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ESSENTIALS 

OF 

TEACHING  READING 


ESSENTIALS 


OF 


TEACHING  READING 


E.  B.  SHERMAN 

Superintendent  of  Schools,  Columbus,  Nebraska 

A.  A.  REED 

Superintendent  of  Schools,  Superior,  Nebraska 


THE  UNIVERSITY  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

LINCOLN,  NEBRASKA 

1906 


Copyright,  1906, 

BY 

THE  UNIVERSITY  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


All  Rights  Reserved 


0f)e  Haktsttre  ^retss 

R.  K.  DONNELLEY  &  SONS  COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Page 
PART  I.— THE  MECHANICS  OF  READING 

Chapter    i,  Time   ------       3 

Chapter   2,  Grouping  -  -  -  -  13 

Chapter   3,  Melody         -  -  -  -  -      19 

Chapter   4,  Force       -----  34 

Chapter    5,  Quality         -  -  -  -  -     40 

PART  II.-INTERPRETATIVE  READING 

Chapter   6,  Types  and  Figures  of  Speech    -  -      51 

Chapter   7,  Effects    -----  63 

PART  III.— METHODS 

Chapter   8,  Primary  Reading         -  •  •  11 

Chapter   9,  Parts  of  a  Recitation  and  Assignment 

OF  THE  Lesson  .....  g8 

Chapter  10,  Classification  of  Material      -  -    108 

Chapter  ii,  Obstacles  to  Good  Expression       -         122 
Chapter  12,  Illustrative  Lessons       -  -  -    132 

Chapter  13,  Use  of  the  Dictionary  -  -         140 

Chapter  14,  Articulation  -  -  -  -    150 

PART  IV.— SELECTIONS  FOR  PRACTICE 

Chapter  15,  Didactic  and  Moral        -  -  -    169 

The  Importance  of  the  Teacher's  Work  and 

THE  Value  of  Proper  Ideals      -      Theodore  Roosevelt 
The  Power  and  Worth  of  Character 

William  Jennings  Bryan 
Elegy  Written  in  a  Country  Church  yard 

Thomas  Gray 
Chapter  16,  Oratorical  179 

The  Gettysburg  Address  -         Abraham  Lincoln 

Abraham  Lincoln  -  -  Charles  H.  Fowler 

The  Southern  Soldier       -  -  -     Henry  Grady 

Liberty  and  Union       -  -  -        Daniel  Webster 

iii 


[Vi727986 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  17,  Dramatic  184 

LocHiNVAR  ....       Sir  Walter  Scott 

Barbara  Frietchie  -  John  Greenleaf  Whittier 

Paul  Revere's  Ride     -       Henry  Wadswortk  Longfellcw 
Glaucus  AND  THE  Lion  -       Edward  Bulwer  Lytton 

Chapter  18,  Narrative  and  Descriptive  196 

The  Lady  of  Shalott         -  -  Alfred  Tennyson 

ICHABOD  Crane  -  -  Washington  Irving 

The  Death  of  Little  Nell  -  Charles  Dickens 

How  They  Brought  the  Good  News  from  Ghent 

TO  Aix  ....      Robert  Browning 

The  Gray  Champion  -  -    Nathaniel  Hawthorne 

Chapter  19,  Humorous  217 

A  Curtain  Lecture      -  -  -        Douglas  Jerro Id 

Whitewashing  the  Fence  -  -       Mark  Twain 

Index  -..--..      221 


PREFACE 


'TpHE  purpose  of  the  authors  in  submitting 
•'^  this  book  to  the  public  is  twofold.  We 
wish,  in  the  first  place,  to  stimulate  the  interest 
in  reading,  the  subject  which  is  the  tool  of  the 
student  in  all  lines  of  study.  In  the  second 
place,  we  wish  to  satisfy  a  demand  that  has 
arisen  on  account  of  the  great  interest  in  read- 
ing. 

It  is  evident  that  there  is  needed  some  work 
that  will  include  in  a  single  volume  the  minimum 
of  what  a  teacher  should  know  in  regard  to 
teaching  reading,  as  well  as  illustrative  lessons 
and  material  for  practice. 

The  plan  of  the  authors  has  been  to  include 
the  following  essentials : 

1.  A  brief  study  of  some  good  method  of 
teaching  reading  in  the  primary  classes. 

2.  A  brief  survey  of  the  most  important 
elements  in  the  mechanics  of  reading,  including 
emphasis,  phrasing  or  thought  grouping,  time, 
pitch,  volume,  and  quality, 

3.  A  rapid  drill  in  pronunciation  and  enun- 
ciation. 

4.  A    study    of   the    methods  of   securing 


vi  PREFACE 


thoughtful   silent  reading  and  expressive  oral 
reading. 

5.  A  review  of  the  subjects  of  types  and 
effects. 

6.  A  study  of  how  to  select,  assign,  and 
conduct  the  lessons  of  the  intermediate  and 
advanced  classes  in  reading,  including  those 
of  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades. 

7.  A  reading  of  many  pieces  of  literature 
of  time-proved  value. 

We  hope  that  this  book  will  be  productive 
of  greater  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  teacher, 
and  better  work  on  the  part  of  the  pupil,  in  that 
most  important  of  all  branches,  reading. 

For  reading  and  criticism  of  manuscript  ac- 
knowledgment is  due  to  W.  K.  Fowler,  Ex- 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  of  Ne- 
braska, Prof.  J.  W.  Searson,  of  the  Nebraska 
State  Normal  at  Peru,  President  A.  O.  Thomas 
of  the  Nebraska  State  Normal  at  Kearney, 
President  W.  H.  Clemmons  of  the  Fremont 
Normal,  and  President  J.  M.  Pile  of  the  Wayne 
Normal. 

The  Authors 


PART  I 
MECHANICS  OF  READING 

TIME,  GROUPING,  MELODY, 
FORCE,  QUALITY 


CHAPTER  I 
TIME 

The  teacher  of  reading  should  have  a  clear  idea  of  the 
relative  importance  of  the  mechanics  of  reading  and 
of  the  thought  in  reading.  There  have  been  two  different 
schools  of  teaching  reading.  One  school  devotes  the  greatest 
attention  to  the  mechanics  of  reading;  the  other  school  works 
from  the  thought  side.  Vital  things  are  taught  by  each  school. 
It  is  necessary  that  the  pupil  get  the  thought  before  he  can 
express  it.  However,  getting  the  thought  does  not  insure 
giving  it.  Many  a  child  knov/s  what  a  sentence  means,  who 
merely  names  the  words  in  it.  T'le  thought  must  be  held  in 
the  mind  while  the  reading  is  done.  If  the  child  has  gotten 
the  thought,  and  is  holding  the  thought  in  his  mind  at  the  time 
he  reads,  his  expression  will  be  good.  So  far  as  the  pupil  is 
concerned,  he  need  not  be  compelled  to  study  the  mechanics  of 
reading.  We  are  satisfied  if  he  gets  the  thought  and  gives  the 
thought. 

It  is  necessary,  however,  for  the  teacher  to  have  a 
knowledge  of  the  mechanics  of  reading.  If  the  pupil  uses 
poor  expression,  it  is  the  business  of  the  teacher  to  recognize  the 
cause  of  the  error.  It  is  by  a  knowledge  of  the  mechanics  of 
reading  that  the  teacher  locates  the  trouble.  Just  so  does  a 
physician  diagnose  a  case.  As  it  is  unnecessary  for  the  patient 
to  have  the  knowledge  of  the  doctor,  so  it  is  unnecessary  for  the 
pupil  to  have  the  knowledge  of  the  teacher.  If  the  pupil  wishes 
to  become  a  teacher,  the  case  becomes  a  different  one.  So  the 
knowledge  of  the  functions  of  Time,  Grouping,  Melody,  Force, 
and  Quality  belong  to  the  teacher,  not  to  the  pupil.     To  the 

3 


ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 


teacher  it  is  essential  for  the  proper  teaching,  and  part  of  the 
great  mass  of  knowledge  drawn  upon  every  day  of  the  school  year. 
The  rate  at  which  a  selection,  a  sentence,  a  phrase,  or 
a  word  is  read  is  called  time.  Time  is  determined  by  the 
largeness  of  the  thought,  or  the  quality  or  strength  of  the 
emotion  represented  by  that  selection,  sentence,  phrase,  or 
word.  We  read  Lincoln's  Gettysburg  Address  slowly,  for 
each  phrase  means  much.  We  read  Mother  Goose's  rhymes 
rapidly,  for  they  mean  almost  nothing  at  all.  If  we  think  what 
we  are  saying,  we  repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Twenty- 
third  Psalm  very  slowly,  for  they  mean  very  much;  but  the 
unthinking  child  rattles  off  his  "  Now  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep. '  * 
If  one  word  in  a  sentence  touches  the  memory,  and  visions  of 
hitherto  forgotten  things  arise,  we  speak  that  word  slowly. 
We  pause  while  we  say  "  From  Maine  to  California,"  for  in 
that  pause  the  mind  must  cross  America. 

The  curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting  day, 
The  lowing  herd  winds  slowly  o'er  the  lea. 

We  read  these  lines  slowly,  because  the  sentiment  in  the  mind 
of  the  reader  displays  itself  in  the  rate  of  utterance.  We  think 
of  the  peaceful,  restful  part  of  the  day;  we  see  the  church ;  and 
we  hear  the  sound  of  the  bell.  We  think  of  the  setting  sun  and 
the  deepening  shadows;  we  watch  the  cattle  as  they  leisurely 
follow  the  winding  paths. 

Notice  how  the  time  in  the  following  becomes  slower  when 
the  larger  thought  is  reached : 

Then  your  apples  all  is  gether'd,  and  the  ones  a  feller  keeps 

Is  poured  around  the  cellar  floor  in  red  and  yeller  heaps  ; 

And  your  cider-makin's  over,  and  your  wimmern  folks  is  through 

With  their  mince  and  apple  butter,  and  their  sous  and  saussage  too. 

I  don't  know  how  to  tell  it  —  but  if  such  a  thing  could  be 

As  the  angels  wantin'  boardin',  and  they  'd  call  'round  on  me, 

I  'd  want  to  'commodate  'em,  all  the  whole  indurin'  flock, — 

When  the  frost  is  on  the  punkin,  and  the  fodder  's  in  the  shock  1 


TIME  $ 


Rapid  utterance  also  is  determined  by  the  thought  and 
emotion.  We  speak  the  words,  "  I  galloped,  Dirck  galloped, 
we  galloped  all  three, ' '  rapidly,  but  not  because  we  wish  to  imi- 
tate the  sound  of  horses'  feet.  Nor  do  we  do  it  to  make  the 
reader  imagine  the  galloping.  That  may  be  the  result,  but  it  is 
not  the  cause.  The  real  cause  is,  that  we  appreciate  the  idea 
of  the  words,  that  we  feel  the  emotion.  The  rapid  utterance  is 
the  result  of  a  kind  of  automatic  suggestion.  The  connection  is 
immediate.  The  brain  does  not  say,  "  Galloping  means  quick 
movement ;  therefore,  lips,  move  quickly. ' '  The  two  things  are 
coincident.  As  the  thought  of  galloping  enters  the  conscious- 
ness and  for  a  time  fills  it,  the  lips  give  out  the  sound  that  holds 
sway. 

Notice  the  somewhat  rapid  utterance  of  the  following.  No 
emotion  is  involved,  the  thoughts  are  not  large,  the  circimi- 
stance  is  commonplace. 

Wal,  the  very  next  mornin'  Josiah  got  up  with  a  new  idee  in  his  head. 
And  he  broached  it  to  me  at  the  breakfast  table.  They  have  been  havin' 
sights  of  pleasure  exertions  here  to  Jonesville  lately.  Every  week  a'most 
they  would  go  off  on  an  exertion  after  pleasure,  and  Josiah  was  all  up  on 
end  to  go  too. 

That  man  is  as  well-principled  man  as  I  ever  see,  but  if  he  had  his 
head  he  would  be  worse  than  any  young  man  I  ever  see  to  foUer  up 
picnics  and  4th  of  July's  and  camp-meetin's  and  all  pleasure  exertions. 
But  I  don't  encourage  him  in  it.  I  have  said  to  him  time  and  time 
again:  "  There  is  a  time  for  everything,  Josiah  Allen,  and  after  any- 
body has  lost  their  teeth  and  every  mite  of  hair  on  the  top  of  their  head, 
it  is  time  for  'em  to  stop  goin'  to  pleasure  exertions. ' ' 

But  good  land,  I  might  just  as  well  talk  to  the  wind!  If  that  man 
should  get  to  be  as  old  as  Mr.  Methusler  and  be  goin*  on  a  thousand  years 
old,  he  would  prick  up  his  ears  if  he  should  hear  of  a  exertion.  All  sum- 
mer long  that  man  has  beset  me  to  go  to  'em,  for  he  would  n't  go  without 
me.  Old  Bunker  Hill  himself  hain't  any  sounder  in  principle  'an  Josiah 
Allen,  and  I  have  had  to  work  head-work  to  make  excuses  and  quell  him 
down.  But  last  week  they  was  goin*  to  have  one  out  on  the  lake,  on  a 
island,  and  that  man  sot  his  foot  down  that  he  would  go. 

Marietta  HoLLEY. 


ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 


In  the  following  the  strength  of  the  emotion  results  in  the 
rapidity  of  the  time. 

Ranald  and  Mrs.  Murray  are  being  chased  by  wolves.  Ranald 
glanced  over  his  shoulder.  Down  the  road,  running  with  silent,  awful 
swiftness,  he  saw  the  long,  low  body  of  the  leading  wolf  flashing  through 
the  bars  of  moonlight  across  the  road,  and  the  pack  following  hard. 

"Let  her  go,  Mrs.  Murray,"  cried  Ranald.  "Whip  her  and  never 
stop."  But  there  was  no  need;  the  pony  was  wild  with  fear  and  was  doing 
her  best  running. 

Ranald  was  meantime  holding  in  the  colt,  and  the  pony  drew  away 
rapidly.  But  as  rapidly  the  wolves  were  closing  in  behind  him.  They 
were  not  more  than  ]a  hundred  yards  away,  and  gaining  every  second. 
Ranald,  remembering  the  suspicious  nature  of  the  brutes,  loosened  his 
coat  and  dropped  it  in  the  road;  with  a  chorus  of  yelps  they  paused, 
then  threw  themselves  upon  it,  and  in  another  minute  took  up  the 
chase. 

But  now  the  clearing  was  in  sight.  The  pony  was  far  ahead,  and 
Ranald  shook  out  his  colt  with  a  yell.  He  was  none  too  soon,  for  the 
pursuing  pack,  now  uttering  short,  shrill  yelps,  were  now  at  the  colt's 
heels.  Lizette,  fleet  as  the  wind,  could  not  shake  them  off.  Closer  and 
ever  closer  they  came,  snapping  and  snarUng.  Ranald  could  see  them 
over  his  shoulder.  A  hundred  yards  more,  and  he  would  reach  his  own 
back  lane.  The  leader  of  the  pack  seemed  to  feel  that  his  chances 
were  slipping  swiftly  away.  With  a  spurt  he  gained  upon  Lizette, 
reached  the  saddle-girths,  gathered  himself  in  two  short  jumps,  and 
sprang  for  the  colt's  throat.  Instinctively  Ranald  stood  up  in  his 
stirrups,  and  kicking  his  foot  free,  caught  the  wolf  under  the  jaw. 
The  brute  fell  with  a  howl  under  the  colt's  feet,  and  the  next  moment 
they  were  in  the  lane  and  safe.  Ralph  Connor. 

Dickens'  "  Death  of  Little  Nell  ' '  is  one  of  those  pieces  of  lit- 
erature in  which  the  quality  of  the  emotion,  and  the  largeness  of 
the  thought,  unite  to  produce  slow  time. 

She  was  dead.  No  sleep  so  beautiful  and  calm,  so  free  from  trace  of 
pain,  so  fair  to  look  upon.  She  seemed  a  creature  fresh  from  the  hand  of 
God,  and  waiting  for  the  breath  of  Ufe:  not  one  who  had  lived  and 
suffered  death. 

Her  couch  was  dressed  here  and  there  with  winter  berries  and  green 
leaves,  gathered  in  a  spot  she  had  been  used  to  favor.     "  When  I  die,  put 


TIME 


near  me  something  that  has  loved  the  light  and  had  the  sky  above  it 
always."     Those  were  her  words. 

She  was  dead.  Dear,  gentle,  patient,  noble  Nell  was  dead.  Her  little 
bird  —  a  poor,  slight  thing  ,the  pressure  of  a  finger  would  have  crushed — 
was  stirring  nimbly  in  its  cage;  and  the  strong  heart  of  its  child-mistress 
was  mute  and  motionless  forever. 

Where  were  the  traces  of  her  early  cares  ?  All  gone.  Sorrow  was  dead 
within  her;  but  peace  and  perfect  happiness  were  born, — imaged  in  her 
tranquil  beauty  and  profound  repose. 

And  still  her  former  self  lay  there,  unaltered  in  this  change.  Yes.  The 
old  fireside  had  smiled  upon  that  same  sweet  face;  it  had  passed  like  a 
dream  through  haunts  of  misery  and  care;  at  the  door  of  the  poor  school 
master  on  the  summer  evening,  before  the  furnace-fire  upon  the  cold,  wet 
night,  at  the  still  bedside  of  the  dying  boy,  there  had  been  the  same 
mild,  lovely  look.  So  shall  we  know  the  angels  in  their  majesty, 
after  death. 

An  example  of  slow  time  on  account  of  the  greatness  of  the 
thought  is  found  in  John  Adams'  speech  at  the  adoption  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence. 

But  whatever  may  be  our  fate,  be  assured,  be  assured,  that  this  declara- 
tion will  stand.  It  may  cost  treasure,  and  it  may  cost  blood;  but  it  will 
stand,  and  it  will  richly  compensate  for  both.  Through  the  thick  gloom 
of  the  present,  I  see  the  brightness  of  the  future,  as  of  the  sun  in  heaven. 
We  shall  make  this  a  glorious,  an  immortal  day.  When  we  are  in  our 
graves,  our  children  will  honor  it.  They  will  celebrate  it  with  thanksgiving, 
with  festivity,  with  bonfires,  and  illuminations.  On  its  annual  return  they 
will  shed  tears,  copious,  gushing  tears,  not  of  subjection  and  slavery,  not 
of  agony  and  distress,  but  of  exultation,  of  gratitude,  and  of  joy. 

Sir,  before  God,  I  believe  the  hour  is  come.  My  judgment  approves 
this  measure,  and  my  whole  heart  is  in  it.  All  that  I  have,  and  all  that  I 
am,  and  all  that  I  hope  to  be,  in  this  Ufe,  I  am  now  ready  here  to  stake 
upon  it;  and  I  leave  off  as  I  began,  that  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  am 
for  the  declaration.  It  is  my  living  sentiment,  and  by  the  blessing  of  God 
it  shall  be  my  dying  sentiment;  independence  now,  and  INDEPEND- 
ENCE FOREVER. 

Another  example  of  the  same  time  for  the  same  cause. 
Portia.     The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strained ; 
It  droppeth  as  the  gentle  rain  from  heaven 


8  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

Upon  the  place  beneath :  it  is  twice  bless' d; 
It  blesseth  him  that  gives,  and  him  that  takes: 
'Tis  mightiest  in  the  mightiest :  it  becomes 
The  throned  monarch  better  than  his  crown ; 
His  scepter  shows  the  force  of  temporal  power, 
The  attribute  to  awe  and  majesty, 
Wherein  doth  sit  the  dread  and  fear  of  kings; 
But  mercy  is  above  this  sceptred  sway; 
It  is  enthroned  in  the  hearts  of  kings, 
It  is  an  attribute  to  God  himself; 
And  earthly  power  doth  then  show  likest  God's 
When  mercy  seasons  justice. 

The  teacher  should  give  few   mechanical  directions. 

An  injunction,  "  Read  more  slowly,  my  boy,  * '  is  a  truly  mechan- 
ical device.  It  is  the  same  operation  as  that  of  the  engineer 
when  he  partially  closes  the  throttle.  It  changes  in  no  way 
the  child's  conception  of  the  thought.  The  slower  reading 
that  results  is  not  one  whit  better  than  the  rapid  reading 
of  the  first  attempt,  because  it  represents  no  better  con- 
ception of  the  thought. 

The  teacher  should  work  through  the  thought  and  emo- 
tion. The  teacher  of  reading  knows  the  lesson  that  he  assigns. 
He  knows  how  much  is  meant  by  the  author.  If  his  pupils  read 
too  rapidly,  he  knows  that  they  are  not  appreciating  the  magni- 
tude of  the  ideas.  So  he  tries  to  bring  to  their  realization  so  much 
of  the  author's  thought  as  the  children  are  able  to  grasp.  He  does 
this  by  question,  or  by  explanation,  or  by  paraphrase.  He  uses 
the  children's  experience  and  their  imagination.  He  works  from 
the  thought  and  the  emotion.  He  regards  time  as  a  test,  not 
as  an  end. 

Reading  that  is  too  slow.  This  trouble  may  arise  from  one 
of  three  causes.  The  child  may  be  slow  by  nature.  The  teacher 
should  then  not  require  what  is  beyond  the  pupil's  power  to  do. 
Reading  that  is  right,  judged  by  his  temperament,  should  be 


TIME 


accepted.  Sometimes  children  read  too  slowly  because  of 
unfamiliarity  with  the  words.  The  treatment  then  is  deter- 
mined by  the  cause  of  the  unfamiliarity. 

It  may  be  the  result  of  having  a  reader  that  is  too  difficult  for 
the  pupils.  There  may  be  too  many  new  words  per  page.  In 
such  a  case  the  reader  should  be  changed.  The  lack  of  famil- 
iarity with  the  words  may  result  from  the  nationality  of  the 
pupil.  If  it  is  impossible,  or  not  best  to  transfer  him  to  a  more 
elementary  class,  then  the  teacher  must  possess  her  soul 
with  patience  until  the  pupil  learns  our  language.  In  a 
few  years  he  will  be  up  with  his  fellows.  The  child  learns 
languages  so  easily  that  a  foreign  born  child  will  finish 
with  the  American  children  and  will  learn  our  language  in 
addition. 

In  the  third  place,  this  unfamiliarity  with  the  words  may 
be  the  result  of  careless  assignment  of  the  lesson.  (See  As- 
signment of  the  Lesson.)  If  the  reading  is  too  slow,  on  ac- 
count of  word  trouble,  let  the  teacher,  first  of  all,  see  to  it 
that  she  has  performed  her  work  properly. 

As  a  summary  of  what  has  been  said  in  this  chapter,  and  as 
an  illustration  of  the  handling  of  a  selection  to  bring  out  the 
largeness  of  the  thought,  let  us  read  Julia  Ward  Howe's  won- 
derful poem,  "The  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic."  This  poem  is 
usually  sung  in  our  schools  to  the  tune  of  "John  Brown's  Body 
Lies  Mouldering  in  the  Grave.''  We  make  the  rhythm  the 
conspicuous  thing.  We  sing  it,  "  Humpty,  dumpty,  dumpty, 
dumpty;  humpty,  dumpty,  dumpty,  dum;  "  etc.  Let  us  see 
what  it  really  means. 

Julia  Ward  Howe  felt  her  heart  throb  with  sympathy  for  a 
million  slaves.  She  was  oppressed  with  the  thought  of  the  great 
sin  that  her  nation  had  committed.  She  saw  the  gathering  of 
myriads  of  fighting  men  to  overwhelm  the  defenders  of  slavery. 
Thinking  of  all  this  she  wrote : — 


lo  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord; 
He  is  trampUng  out  the  vintage  where  the  grapes  of  wrath  are  stored; 
He  hath  loosed  the  fateful  lightning  of  His  terrible  swift  sword: 
His  truth  is  marching  on. 

In  the  darkness  of  the  night  she  has  gone  up  to  the  house  roof 
in  her  home  in  the  nation's  capital.  She  has  seen  the  camp- 
fires  of  the  soldiers  in  those  ninety  forts  that  encircled  and 
defended  Washington.  She  thinks  of  the  terrible  power  soon 
to  be  loosed  from  those  thousands  of  muskets,  those  hundreds 
of  cannon.  As  she  thinks  of  this,  it  comes  to  her  that  God, 
himself,  is  moving  in  the  midst  of  this  army,  that  He  has 
pronounced  His  will,  and  that  His  omnipotent  power  is  on 
the  side  of  the  North. 

I  have  seen  Him  in  the  watch-fires  of  a  hundred  circling  camps; 
They  have  builded  Him  an  altar  in  the  evening  dews  and  damps; 
I  can  read  His  righteous  sentence  by  the  dim  and  flaring  lamps: 
His  day  is  marching  on. 

In  our  imagination  we  also  see  the  columns  of  blue  clad,  stal- 
wart men  marching  down  Pennsylvania  Avenue  in  Washington, 
filling  it  from  curb  to  curb,  stretching  away  in  the  distance  as  far 
as  the  eye  can  reach.  We  also  feel  the  irresistible  power  of 
the  cause.  Certainly  God  is  on  our  side,  and  He  is  marching 
with  His  children. 

I  have  read  a  fiery  gospel  writ  in  burnished  rows  of  steel: 
"  As  ye  deal  with  My  contemners,  so  with  you  My  grace  shall  deal; 
Let  the  Hero,  born  of  woman,  crush  the  serpent  with  His  heel, 
Since  God  is  marching  on. ' ' 

As  we  think  of  this  host  of  soldiers,  of  this  just  cause,  of  the 
aroused  wrath  of  God,  there  comes  a  determination  that  this  re- 
bellion shall  be  quelled,  that  this  blot  shall  be  removed,  that 
men  shall  be  tested  by  fire  and  by  blood.  All  this  shall  be 
done,  it  cannot  be  prevented,  for  God  has  willed  it. 


TIME  II 


He  has  sounded  forth  the  trumpet  that  shall  never  call  retreat; 
He  is  sifting  out  the  hearts  of  men  before  His  judgment  seat; 
O,  be  swift,  my  soul,  to  answer  Him!  be  jubilant,  my  feet! 
Our  God  is  marching  on. 

In  an  upper  room  in  a  lodging-house  in  London,  a  group  of 
war  correspondents  were  celebrating  the  approach  of  war  in 
the  Soudan.  Led  by  the  veteran,  the  Nilghai,  they  sing  the 
American  song,  "The  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic."  They 
sing  the  first  stanza,  and  the  second,  and  the  third,  and  the 
fourth.  Then  they  pause.  Cassavetti,  the  Frenchman,  proud 
of  his  knowledge,  starts  the  last  verse, — but  grizzled  old  Tor- 
penhow,  the  veteran  of  a  dozen  campaigns,  holds  up  his  hand 
and  says,  "  Hold  on.  We've  nothing  to  do  with  that.  That 
belongs  to  another  man."  What  is  this  verse,  so  high  in 
sentiment,  so  lofty  in  tone,  that  these  men  would  not  or  could 
not  sing  it.     This  is  it. 

In  the  beauty  of  the  lilies,  Christ  was  bom  across  the  sea, 
With  a  glory  in  his  bosom  that  transfigures  you  and  me; 
As  He  died  to  make  men  holy,  let  us  die  to  make  men  free, 
While  God  is  marching  on. 

OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  I 

TIME 
Mechanics  of  reading: 

Relative  importance  of  the  mechanics  and  the  thought. 
The  two  schools  of  teaching  reading. 

Necessity  of  teachers  understanding  the  mechanics  of  reading. 
Definition  of  time : 
What  determines  time. 
Function  of  time. 
What  causes  rapid  time. 
Common  place  thought. 
Excitement. 
What  causes  slow  time: 
Emotion. 
Largeness  of  thought. 


12  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

Mechanical  directions. 
Through  what  to  work. 
Cause  of  too  rapid  reading. 
Causes  of  too  slow  reading: 

Nature  of  reader. 

Difficult  text. 

Poor  assignment  of  lesson. 
Example  of  method. 

FOR  REVIEW  AND  SUGGESTION 

1.  Why  is  the  knowledge  of  the  mechanics  of  reading  important  for 
the  teacher  ? 

2.  What  are  the  various  schools  of  teaching  reading?    How  do  they 
differ? 

3.  What  important  truths  are  taught  in  each  school  ? 

4.  How  is  a  teacher's  work  similar  to  a  physician's? 

5.  What  determines  time  in  reading? 

6.  Why  do  we  read  descriptions  of  races  rapidly  ? 
7    What  causes  too  rapid  reading  ? 

8.  How  can  these  causes  be  removed  ? 

9.  What  causes  too  slow  reading  ? 

10.  How  can  these  causes  be  removed  ? 

11.  Would  you  read  Lincoln's  Gettysburg  Address  slowly  or  rapidly? 
Why? 

12.  What  would  you  do  if  a  pupil  in  a  reading  class  should  read 
"America"  very  rapidly? 

13.  At  what  rate  should  "Mrs.  Caudle's  Curtain  Lectures"  be  read? 
Kipling's  "Recessional"  ? 

14.  Name  some  selections  to  be  read  in  rapid  time.     Medium  time. 
Slow  time. 

1 5 .  Should  a  child  ever  be  told  to  read  slower  ?     When  ? 

16.  How  far  should  the  temperament  of  children  be  taken  into  account 
in  criticising  the  rate  of  their  reading  ? 

17.  Will  pupils  of  foreign  ancestry  require  any  different  treatment 
from  pupils  of  American  ancestry  ? 

18.  Under  what  circumstances  should  a  teacher  read  to  pupils  ? 


CHAPTER  II 
GROUPING 

A  thing  that  affects  Time,  though  important  enough  to  be 
treated  separately,  is  the  subject  of  grouping.  Good  readers 
instinctively  divide  the  words  of  a  sentence  into  groups 
of  varying  lengths.  The  purpose  of  this  grouping  is 
that  the  hearer  may  receive  the  thought  in  units  larger  than 
words,  and  thereby  understand  it  the  more  easily.  When 
words  expressing  an  idea  are  grouped  together,  the  hearer  re- 
ceives the  idea  as  a  unit.  If  the  words  are  not  given  as  a  group, 
he  receives  a  part  of  the  idea,  and  must  change  his  idea  as  each 
new  element  is  introduced.  This  grouping  is  not  only  essen- 
tial to  intelligent  reading,  but  it  is  also  natural.  The  mind 
finds  it  hard  to  hold  long  sentences  in  their  entirety.  A  child 
will  either  break  up  these  sentences  into  groups  of  comprehen- 
sible length,  or  giving  up  the  task,  read  the  whole  sentence  as  a 
string  of  words.  He  may  even  attach  some  words  of  the  next 
sentence  to  his  string,  and  be  sternly  informed  by  a  mechanical 
teacher  that  he  forgot  to  drop  his  voice  at  the  period.  It  is  the 
business  of  the  teacher  to  promote  the  tendency  to  group  words 
in  reading. 

What  words  belong  in  a  group  is  a  matter  determined 
by  the  thought  alone.  The  mechanical  teacher  has  a  difficult 
task  in  teaching  grouping,  for  there  are  no  certain  mechanical 
aids  in  discovering  the  groups.  Punctuation  is  of  some  assist- 
ance, not  because  marks  of  punctuation  mean  pauses,  but  be- 
cause they  indicate  thought-units,  and  therefore,  words  grouped 
together  in  reading.  Notice  this  sentence : — '*  Earth,  that  nour- 
ished thee,  shall  claim  thy  growth. ' '    Here  the  commas  set  off 

13 


14  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

a  supplementary  clause.  This  relative  clause  is  also  a  group  of 
words  read  together.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  sentence — 
"  Every  Tom,  Dick,  and  Harry  was  invited,"  there  are  com- 
mas, but  the  words  are  grouped  together.  Certainly  no  good 
reader  would  pause  after  the  first  word  in  the  line, — "  But,  look 
you,  Cassius  — ."  Punctuation,  then,  does  not  determine 
grouping,  but  does  indicate  structure  of  the  sentence.  Struc- 
ture depends  on  thought,  and  thought  determines  grouping. 

In  the  following  sentences  there  are  very  clearly  defined 
groups,  while  there  are  but  few  punctuation  marks.  The 
groups  are  indicated  by  dashes.  "  At  the  present  day — the 
value  of  the  cat — as  a  useful  and  pleasant  inmate  of  the  home 
— is  generally  recognized."  "The  Star  of  Napoleon — was 
just  reaching  its  zenith,^as  that  of  Washington — was  be- 
ginning to  wane." 

Children  should  be  taught  to  feel  the  thought-groups  and 
to  indicate  them  while  reading.  The  voice  should  not 
drop  as  at  the  end  of  the  sentence.  The  sentence  unit  should 
still  be  in  the  child's  mind.  He  should  glance  through  the  sen- 
tence before  he  begins  to  read.  He  should  know  that  he  will 
not  be  through  before  he  gives  the  whole  thought.  He  should 
read  the  sentence  as  a  unit,  dividing  the  connected  ideas  into 
subordinate  groups  of  varying  lengths. 

The  primary  pupil  will  find  his  first  sentences  to  be  single 
groups;  as,  "  I  have  a  leaf. ' '  But  even  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
first  reader,  grouping  begins;  as,  "Three  Httle  squirrels — live 
in  a  tree."  Grammar  grade  pupils  find  work  like  this: 
"  Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  —  our  fathers  brought  forth 
upon  this  continent — a  new  nation,  — conceived  in  liberty, — and 
dedicated  to  the  proposition — that  all  men  are  created  equal." 

Notice  the  great  importance  of  proper  grouping  in  the  read- 
ing of  the  last  Hues  of  Whittier's  "  Barbara  Frietchie."  Try 
reading  it  by  lines  and  then  by  groups. 


GROUPING  15 


All  day  long  through  Frederick  Street/ 
Sounded  the  tread  of  marching  feet;  / 

All  day  long  /  that  free  flag  /  tost 
Over  the  heads  of  the  rebel  host.  / 

Ever  its  torn  folds  /  rose  and  fell 

On  the  loyal  winds  that  loved  it  well;  / 

And  through  the  hill-gaps  /  sunset  light 
Shone  over  it  with  a  warm  good-night.  / 

Barbara  Frietchie's  work  /  is  o'er,  / 

And  the  Rebel  rides  on  his  raids  no  more.  / 

Honor  to  her!  /  and  let  a  tear 

Fall,  /  for  her  sake,  /  on  Stonewall's  bier.  / 

Over  Barbara  Frietchie's  grave,  / 
Flag  of  Freedom  and  Union,  /  wave! 

Peace  and  order  and  beauty  /  draw 
Round  thy  symbol  of  Ught  and  law;  / 

And  ever  the  stars  above  /  look  down 
On  thy  stars  below  /  in  Frederick  town!/ 

Few  rules  can  be  given  the  pupil  about  grouping.     The 

only  one  that  is  universal  is,  that  there  is  never  more  than  one 
emphatic  word  in  a  group.  If  the  reader  decides  to  emphasize  an 
additional  word  in  a  group  upon  which  he  is  already  decided, 
he  will  instinctively  make  two  groups  out  of  what  he  had  before 
made  but  one.  Work  from  the  thought  side.  Help  the  pupils  to 
pick  out  groups.  Have  them  copy  paragraphs  and  put  marks 
where  the  groups  are  separated.  Sometimes  it  is  made  more 
plain  to  the  children  by  telling  them  that  the  words  in  a  group 
are  spoken  as  if  they  were  parts  of  one  word. 

Allow  liberty  of  thought.  The  pupil  should  have  reason- 
able scope  for  individuality  in  grouping,  as  in  emphasis  or 
time.  After  a  time,  he  will  acquire  the  ability  and  the  habit, 
and  oral  reading  will  become  for  him  much  more  of  a  plea- 


i6  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

sure.  The  following  verses  are  separated  into  groups.  There 
are  good  grounds  for  differences  of  opinion,  in  regard  to 
some  of  the  groups.  In  fact,  it  is  uncommon  for  two  teachers 
to  agree  on  all  the  groups  in  a  selection.  Many  will  read  the 
Unes  thus: 

iHis  brow  is  wetnwith  honest  sweat,i 

iHe  earnsiiwhate'er  he  can^ 
|And  looks  the  whole  worldiiin  the  face,i 

jFor  he  owes  not[|any  man.| 

Most  persons  will  read  it  as  given  in  the  text  below.  This 
selection  is  grouped  by  underscoring.  The  beginnmg  and  end 
of  each  group  is  indicated  by  an  upward  turn  of  the  line, 

thus: 

iHonor  to  herlnand  let  a  tear 

Fall,llfor  her  sake^ion  Stonewall's  bier.| 

This  method  of  marking  groups  is  preferable  to  the  ordinary 
vertical  line  plan  because  it  obscures  the  text  less  and  because  it 
directs  attention  to  the  group  rather  than  to  the  pause  that 
separates  the  groups. 

THE  VILLAGE  BLACKSMITH 
Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow 

1.  |Under  a  spreading  chestnut  tree| 

[The  village  smithy  stands;| 
(The  smith,|  |a  mighty  man  is  he,| 

jWith  large  and  sinewy  hands;| 
[And  the  muscles  of  his  brawny  arms] 

[Are  strong  as  iron  bands.] 

2.  |His  hair  is  crisp,||and  black,; [and  long,| 

|His  face  is  like  the  tan;i 
|His  brow  is  wet  with  honest  sweat,] 

]He  earns  whate'er  he  can,| 
{And  looks  the  whole  world  in  the  fkce,| 

{For  he  owes  not  any  man.] 


GROUPING  17 


3.  jWeek  injiweek  out^ifrom  morn  till  nighti 

lYou  can  hear  his  bellows  blow;} 
^You  can  hear  him  swing  his  heavy  sledge,| 

|With  measured  beatiiand  slow,i 
|Like  a  sextoni  [ringing  the  village  bell,| 

iWhen  the  evening  sun]|is  low.| 

4.  [And  children  coming  home  from  school | 

[Look  in  at  the  open  door;| 
iThey  love  to  see  the  flaming  forge,| 

I  And  hear  the  bellows  roar,| 
|And  catch  the  burning  sparks,  jthatfly 

Like  chaffi  ifrom  a  threshing-floor.| 

5.  jHe  goes  on  Sunday  to  the  church,| 

iAnd  sits  among  his  boy?;| 
lHe  hears  the  parson  pray  and  preach  ;| 

,He  hears  his  daughter's  voice,} 
tSinging  in  the  village  choir,; 

iAnd  it  makes  his  heart  rejoice.) 

6.  lit  sounds  to  him  like  her  mother's  voice  i 

iSinging  in  paradise  !| 
iHe  needs  must  think  of  her  once  more^ 

iHow  in  the  grave  she  lies;| 
I  And  with  his  hard,  rough  hand]  (he  wipes 

A  tear  out  of  his  eyes.| 

7.  [Toiling,;— .rejoicing,— ,sorrowing,| 
'    [Onward  through  life  he  goes;| 
lEach  morningipees  some  task  begun,; 

[Each  eveningijsees  it  close;, 
[Something  attempted^  [something  done,[ 
[Has  earned  a  night's  repose.) 

8.  ,Thanks,i|thanks  to  thee,, .my  worthy  friend,! 

[For  the  lesson  thou  hast  taught!] 
iThus  at  the  flaming  forge  of  life; 

tOur  fortunesiimust  be  wrought;} 
,Thus  on  each  sounding  anvilnshaped 

Each  burning  deed,ftnd  thought!| 


i8  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 


OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  II 

GROUPING 
Purpose  of  grouping. 
Naturalness  of  grouping. 
What  determines  grouping. 
Influence  of  punctuation. 
Duty  of  the  teacher. 
Grouping  in  primary  grades. 
Grouping  in  advanced  grades. 
Liberty  of  thought. 
Methods  of  making  groups. 
Example.  "The  Village  Blacksmith." 

FOR  REVIEW  AND  SUGGESTION 

1.  How  does  grouping  affect  time? 

2 .  Upon  what  principle  of  thought-getting  is  grouping  based  ? 

3.  Do  people  group  words  in  conversation? 

4.  What  part  does  punctuation  play  in  grouping  ? 

5.  Can  children  group  words  correctly? 

6.  How  much  individual  liberty  should  be  allowed  in  grouping  ? 

7.  What  exercises  can  be  given  children  to  train  them  in  grouping  ? 

8.  In  the  second  line  of  stanza  4  above  is  "door"  the  object  of  a 
preposition,  or  of  a  verb-phrase  composed  of  "lock,"  "in,"  and  "at"? 

9.  How  would  you  group  the  sentence,  "He  laughed  at  the  sugges- 
tion?"    Change  to  the  passive  voice. 

10.  Did  the  cow  jump  ,over  the  moon,,  or  j'ump  over,  the  moon  ? 

1 1 .  Divide  into  groups,  "  The  dish  ran  away  with  the  spoon. ' ' 

12.  Can  you  suggest  a  single  verb  that  could  be  substituted  for  the 
verb-phrase  in  the  preceding  sentence  ? 

13      Try  changing  the  sentences  in  11  and  12  to  the  passive  voice. 
14.     What  difference  in  meaning  in  "The  boy  who  was  hurt  was 
taken  home,"  and  "The  boy,  who  was  hurt,  was  taken  home?" 


CHAPTER  III 
MELODY 
The  function  of  melody,  the  movement  of  the  voice  up 
and  down  in  pitch,  is  to  show  the  motive  of  the  speaker. 

This  includes  showing  the  relation  of  the  words.  The  words, 
"  Jones  goes  tomorrow, ' '  do  not  show  the  full  thought  of  the 
speaker.  There  may  be  three  very  different  meanings.  ^^  J  ones 
goes  tomorrow, ' '  shows  that  the  speaker  wishes  to  state  the 
fact  that  it  is  Jones,  not  some  one  else  who  goes.  The  motive 
in  "Jones  goes  tomorrow,"  is  to  tell  that  he  "  goes,"  not 
"  comes,"  while  "Jones  goes  tomorrow^*  indicates  when  he 
goes.  The  word  that  indicates  the  important  thing,  in  other 
words,  the  main  idea,  is  spoken  higher  in  pitch  than  the  other 
words  of  the  sentence.  It  is  often  spoken  with  more  energy 
also. 

In  every  sentence  or  every  phrase  there  is  a  main  idea. 
Take,  for  example,  "I  am  going  to  school, '  *  spoken  in  answer 
to  the  question,  "  Where  are  you  going  ? ' '  In  this  sentence  the 
main  idea  is  expressed  by  the  word  "school."  Everything 
else  in  the  sentence  is  of  much  less  importance.  The  speaker 
will  therefore  raise  the  pitch  of  the  voice  in  speaking  the  word 
"  school."  Indeed,  a  small  boy  asked  the  question,  may  ignore 
the  accompanying  words,  and  answer  simply,  "School ."  In 
the  sentence,  "I  would  rather  be  a  doctor  than  a  lawyer, '  * 
the  main  ideas  are  expressed  by  the  words  "doctor"  and 
"  lawyer."  These  words  are  therefore  spoken  with  a  change 
of  inflection  that  results  in  placing  the  two  ideas  in  contrast. 

The  first  time  an  idea  is  mentioned,  it  is,  generally, 
the  main  idea,  and  so  is  emphatic. 

19 


ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 


For  example: 

1.  Mary  has  a  doll. 

2.  She  loves  her  doll. 

3.  She  has  a  book,  too. 

4.  It  is  a  new  book. 

In  the  first  sentence,  there  are  three  new  ideas  expressed  by 
''Mary,"  "has,"  and  "doll."  No  matter  how  often  the 
words  occur  again  in  this  connection,  they  will  not  have  direct 
emphasis.  In  the  second  sentence,  the  main  idea  is  the  verb 
"loves"  and  all  the  rest  must  be  subordinated.  In  the  third 
sentence,  "book"  gives  the  new  idea.  In  the  fourth,  the 
purpose  is  to  predicate  newness  of  something  mentioned 
before,  so  the  important  word  is  "new." 

The  time  to  begin  expressive  reading  is  with  the  first 
sentence  the  child  reads.  It  is  easier  to  form  correct  habits 
than  to  change  errors  after  they  have  become  fixed.  In  reading 
a  simple  sentence  like  the  first  above,  after  the  pupil  knows 
the  words  the  teacher  can  ask  him  to  tell  what  the  first  sentence 
says.  It  is  worth  while  to  take  time  to  have  him  tell  the 
sentence  clearly  and  distinctly,  making  good  conversation 
the  standard.  Each  important  idea  will  have  a  slight  empha- 
sis effected  by  melody,  stress  and  time.  The  teacher  should 
see  that  the  article  "a"  is  given  as  though  an  unaccented 
syllable  of  the  word  following. 

Before  the  pupil  tries  to  read  the  second  sentence,  the  teacher 
should  ask,  "  What  does  the  next  sentence  tell  that  is  new  ?  ' ' 
Or  she  can  say,  "How  does  Mary  feel  toward  her  doll  ? '  ^  The 
pupil  should  answer  in  the  language  of  the  book.  If  the  teacher 
has  succeeded  in  causing  him  to  think  clearly  of  the  new  relation 
he  will  answer  with  correct  melody,  the  entire  sentence  being  in 
tone-effect  equivalent  to  a  word  of  four  syllables  with  the  accent 
on  the  second  syllable. 


MELODY  21 


Before  the  pupil  reads  aloud  the  third  sentence,  the  teacher 
should  ask  him  what  it  tells  that  is  new,  or  should  say, "  What 
else  does  she  have  ? ' '  The  impulse  of  the  pupil,  if  he  has 
the  meaning,  will  be  to  say,  "A  book. ' '  This  is  a  good  sign. 
But  the  teacher  should  then  add,  "  Tell  me  all  of  it,"  and 
should  question  the  pupil  until  he  gives  it  as  if  it  were  a  word  of 
four  syllables  with  the  accent  on  the  last. 

To  enable  the  pupil  to  see  the  new  relation  in  the  fourth  sen- 
tence, the  teacher  j:an  ask,  "What  kind  of  a  book  is  it  ?  * '  Un- 
til the  pupil  is  able  to  select  the  main  idea  readily,  the  teacher 
should  continue  questioning  in  one  or  both  of  the  ways  suggest- 
ed, and  should  return  to  the  questioning  at  any  time  when  the 
pupil  shows  a  tendency  merely  to  pronounce  words. 

A  sentence  must  be  read  in  its  relation  to  what  precedes 
and  what  follows  it.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  a  sentence, 
like  the  first  example  above,  can  have  four  different  meanings, 
and  so  can  be  read  correctly  in  four  different  ways.  That 
would  be  true  if  the  sentence  stood  alone.  It  would  then  be 
valueless,  as  no  one  could  tell  what  the  writer  meant.  From  the 
nature  of  the  case,  a  sentence  must  have  a  sufficient  setting  to 
show  its  meaning,  or  it  serves  no  purpose  of  language.  In  the 
example  mentioned,  the  second  sentence  makes  clear  the  mean- 
ing of  the  first.  If  the  second  read,  "  She  had  a  flower,''  it 
would  change  the  meaning  of  the  first  entirely.  If  it  read,  "It 
IS  not  the  doll  she  wants, ' '  the  meaning  of  the  first  would  be  dif- 
ferent still.  Change  the  second  to  "  Lucy  wants  it,"  and  it 
changes  the  first  accordingly.  Write  it,  "  She  wants  a  flower, ' ' 
and  this  conditions  the  meaning  of  the  first.  If  the  second  is, 
"  Lucy  has  a  flower, ' '  there  is  still  a  different  shade  of  meaning. 
Let  the  teacher,  for  her  own  study  of  sentence  meaning,  try  the 
effect  of  changing  the  second  sentence  so  as  to  give  still  different 
meanings;  as  "Lucy  wants  a  flower, ' '  "Lucy  has  a  doll,  too, ' ' 
"  Lucy  wants  the  doll, ' '  etc.    It  would  be  well  for  the  teacher  to 


22  ESSENTIALS  OF   READING 

write  the  first  sentence  and  follow  it  with  as  many  different  sen- 
tences as  can  be  arranged  to  vary  the  meaning  of  the  first.  Both 
sentences  should  be  written  out  each  time.  This  is  a  most  im- 
portant exercise,  and  will  lead  to  clearness  in  handling  larger 
units. 

Children  should  be  taught  to  look  for  the  main  ideas. 
When  a  sentence  is  read  without  expression,  it  means  that  the 
reader  does  not  have  in  his  mind  the  meaning  of  the  sentence. 
The  obvious  remedy  is  to  get  him  to  think  the  right  thought. 
To  ask  him  to  imitate  the  teacher's  rendering,  or  that  of  another 
pupil,  does  not  meet  the  requirement.  He  must  be  led  to  see  for 
himself  the  main  idea.  The  teacher  can  do  this  by  questions 
or  substitutions.  For  instance,  in  the  text  given  below,  suppose 
a  pupil  reads,  ''Then  the  Farmer  came  to  look  at  his  wheat. ' ' 
The  teacher  says,  "Who  came?"  and  the  pupil  answers  by 
reading  the  sentence  correctly,  ''Then  the  Farmer  came  to  look 
at  his  wheat."  Or  the  teacher  may  say  in  a  question- 
ing tone,  "Then  the  Hunter  came,"  and  the  answer  will 
be,  "Then  the  Farmer  came  to  look  at  his  wheat." 
By  either  the  question  or  the  substitution,  the  teacher  brings 
the  thought  to  the  child's  consciousness,  and  the  thought 
produces  the  correct  emphasis.  It  is  a  pedagogical  blunder  to 
have  pupils  read  a  sentence  in  several  different  ways,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  so-called  "expression  exercises"  of  some  texts  on 
reading.  It  creates  the  impression  that  meanings  can  be  jug- 
gled about,  and  that  it  is  really  not  an  important  matter  just 
how  a  sentence  is  read.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  but  one 
way  to  read  a  sentence,  as  a  sentence  has,  or  should  have,  but 
one  meaning. 

Sometimes  it  is  impossible  to  determine  the  meaning.  This 
condition  should  be  recognized  as  a  fault  of  the  writer,  and 
should  not  be  used  as  an  excuse  for  inaccurate  thinking,  or  for 
careless  expression.    Writers  of  primers  and  first  readers  err 


MELODY  23 


most  in  this  respect.  Many  of  them  are  so  anxious  to  intro- 
duce words  that  they  use  them  in  any  relation,  so  they  are 
used  frequently.  There  is  as  much  reason  for  lesson  unity  in 
these  earlier  years  as  at  any  other  time.  The  paragraphs 
should  have  proper  coherence.  Except  in  exercises  especially 
designated  as  reviews,  a  sentence  should  never  be  used  that 
does  not  have  consistent  paragraph  relations.  Teachers 
should  feel  perfectly  free  to  omit  exercises  that  violate  this  prin- 
ciple, as  there  is  no  such  pressing  need  of  acquiring  a  large 
vocabulary  that  it  should  be  accomplished  at  the  expense  of  a 
violation  of  the  language  sense.  Then  there  is  plenty  of  material 
available  that  is  consistent  in  this  regard.  This  should  be 
drawn  upon,  in  the  interest  of  forming  habits  that  will  not 
need  to  be  changed  later. 

Whatever  is  already  in  consciousness  is  not  emphatic. 
It  matters  not  how  the  idea  came  to  the  attention.  It  may  have 
been  mentioned  before,  as  in  the  illustrations  given  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  chapter.  It  may  be  supplied  by  a  picture,  as  in  the 
story  of  "The  House  that  Jack  Built.  * '  It  may  be  impHed  by 
the  nature  of  the  context,  as  occurs  in  the  story  of  the  "  Prodigal 
Son. ' '  "And  the  father  said  to  his  servants,  'Bring  forth  the  best 
robe,  and  put  it  on  him;  and  put  a  ring  on  his  hand,  and  shoes 
on  his  feet.'  ' '  The  use  of  the  ring  is  clearly  impHed  by  the  con- 
text. Such  a  ring  is  worn  on  the  hand,  so  the  relation  of  the 
hand  to  the  ring  is  implied  in  mentioning  the  ring.  So  shoes  are 
wearing  apparel  for  the  feet,  and  the  use  is  included  in  the 
idea  expressed  by  the  name.  Neither  "hand"  nor  "feet'*  is 
as  emphatic  as  "ring"  and  "shoes." 

Inasmuch  as  a  pronoun  represents  another  word,  it  cannot 
be  used  unless  the  idea  is  already  under  consideration.  Hence 
pronouns  do  not  have  absolute  emphasis.  When  a  pronoun  is 
emphatic,  it  is  emphasis  of  contrast,  of  question,  of  ajQirmation, 
of  force,  or  of  irony. 


24  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

The  circumflex,  or  wave  inflection  is  used  most  frequent- 
ly to  show  emphasisiof  contrast.  In  speech,  there  is  no  mis- 
taking the  intention  of  making  a  contrast.  A  warning  is 
given  by  a  pecuHar  circumflex,  or  wave  of  the  voice.  This  cir- 
cumflex is  used  for  other  purposes,  but  the  difference  is  shown 
by  the  quaUty.  No  one  confuses  it  with  sarcasm,  irony,  scorn, 
indignation,  or  the  hundred  other  shades  of  meaning  indicated 
by  the  use  of  the  wave.  In  reading,  the  presence  of  contrast 
must  be  learned  from  the  context.  The  surety  with  which  it  is 
discerned  depends  upon  the  abiHty  of  the  reader  to  hold  in 
mind  the  meanings  already  in  consciousness,  and  to  direct  the 
eye  far  in  advance  in  search  of  the  full  meaning.  Often  there 
will  result  a  shifting  and  rearrangement  of  related  meanings. 
The  less  frequent  this  readjustment  is  necessary,  the  more  satis- 
factory will  be  the  result  whether  the  reading  be  silent  or  oral. 

The  difference  between  direct  and  circumflex  emphasis  can 
be  represented  graphically.  Thus:  ^' Harry  is  at  the  window''' 
There  is  a  change  of  pitch  and  of  stress.  The  transition  from 
the  higher  to  the  lower  pitch  is  made  between  syllables,  the  voice 
being  dropped  abruptly  from  one  to  the  other.  If  the  contrast 
were  intended,  the  contrasting  ideas  would  be  indicated  by  a 
wave;  thus:  ^^ Harry  is  at  the  window,  if ary  is  near  the 
organ.**  The  wave  belongs  mostly  to  the  vowel  sounds, 
and  involves  all  but  the  most  obscure  sounds. 

Care  must  be  taken  not  to  attempt  to  emphasize  too  many 
words.  Sometimes  an  ambitious  and  affected  reader  will 
give  utterance  to  such  an  absurdity  as  this,  "  Towards 
noon  the  farmer  and  his  son  came  into  the  field.**  In 
this  sentence,  the  reader  must  decide  whether  "  noon, '  *  or 
* 'farmer  and  his  son,  *' or  "field  **  expresses  the  central  idea. 
Only  one  of  these  ideas  can  sway  the  mind  at  a  time.  Only 
one  of  them  should  be  emphasized.  No  compromise  can  be 
allowed  by  placing  some  emphasis  on  each.    The  aim  should 


MELODY  25 


be  to  emphasize  but  few  words,  but  to  emphasize  those  few 
words  hard.  Let  common  sense  rule,  and  let  the  teacher  be 
considerate  of  the  pupil's  honest  opinion. 

The  following  story  is  marked  to  show  the  main  ideas. 
Many  expressions  that  have  a  slight  emphasis  are  not  marked. 
Such  emphasis  takes  care  of  itself.  The  important  thing  is  to 
have  the  main  ideas  brought  out  very  distinctly.  As  in  group- 
ing words,  there  is  great  room  for  differences  of  opinion. 

In  a  field  of  wheat  there  was  a  Lark's  nest,  and  in  the  nest  there 
were  four  young  Larks  almost  large  enough  to  fly.  One  morning 
when  the  mother  Lark  was  going  out  for  something  to  eat  she  said  to 
her  Uttle  ones:  — 

"  The  wheat  is  now  ripe  enough  to  be  cut,  and  there  is  no  telling 
how  soon  the  reapers  will  come.  So  keep  wide  awake  to-day,  and  when 
I  come  home  tell  me  all  that  you  see  or  hear." 

The  little  Larks  promised  that  they  would  do  so,  and  the  mother 
flew  away  singing. 

She  was  hardly  out  of  sight  when  the  Farmer  who  owned  the  field 
came  with  his  son  to  look  at  his  wheat.  "I  tell  you  what,  John,"  he 
said,  "  it  is  time  that  this  wheat  was  cut.  Go  round  to  our  neighbors 
this  evening  and  ask  them  to  come  to-morrow  and  help  us." 

When  the  old  Lark  came  home  the  young  ones  told  her  what  they 
had  heard;  and  they  were  so  badly  frightened  that  they  begged  her  to 
move  them  out  of  the  field  at  once. 

"There  is  no  hurry,"  she  said.  "  If  he  waits  for  his  neighbors  to 
come  he  will  have  to  wait  a  long  time." 

The  next  day,  while  the  mother  Lark  was  away,  the  Farmer  and  his 
son  came  again. 

"John,  did  you  ask  the  neighbors  to  come?"  said  the  Farmer. 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  John,  "and  they  all  promised  to  be  here  early." 

"  But  they  have  not  come,"  said  the  Farmer,  "  and  the  wheat  is  so 
ripe  that  it  must  be  cut  at  once.  Since  our  neighbors  have  failed  us, 
we  must  call  in  our  kinsfolk.  So  mount  your  horse  and  ride  round 
to  all  your  uncles  and  cousins,  and  ask  them  to  be  sure  and  come 
to-morrow  and  help  us." 

The  young  Larks  were  in  great  fear  when  they  heard  this,  and  in 
the  evening  they  told  their  mother  all  about  it. 

"Mother,"  they  said,  "we  shall  be  killed  if  we  stay  here  another 
day.    Our  wings  are  strong  enough;  let  us  fly  away  right  now." 

"Don't  be  in  a  hurry,"  said  the  mother.  "If  the  Farmer  waits  for 
his  kinsfolk  the  wheat  will  not  be  cut  to-morrow ;  for  the  uncles  and 
cousins  have  their  own  harvest  work  to  do." 

She  went  out  again  the  next  day,  but  told  the  young  ones  to 
notice  everything  that  happened  while  she  was  gone. 


26  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

Towards  noon  the  Fanner  and  his  son  came  into  the  field. 

"See  how  lat«  in  the  day  it  is,"  said  the  Farmer,  "and  not  a  man 
has  come  to  help  us." 

"  And  the  grain  is  so  ripe  that  it  is  all  falling  down  and  going  to 
waste,"  said  his  son. 

"Yes,"  said  the  Farmer,  "and  since  neither  our  friends  nor  our  kins- 
folk will  help  us,  we  must  do  the  work  ourselves.  Let  us  go  home 
and  whet  our  scythes  and  get  everything  ready,  so  that  we  can  begin 
before  sunrise  in  the  morning." 

The  old  Lark  came  home  quite  early  that  day,  and  the  little  Larks 
told  her  what  they  had  heard. 

"Now,  indeed,  it  is  time  for  us  to  be  off,"  she  said.  "Shake 
your  wings  and  get  ready  to  fly;  for  when  a  man  makes  up  his  mind 
to  do  a  thing  himself,  it  is  pretty  sure  to  be  done." 

Melody  has  more  to  do  than  to  point  out  main  ideas.  It 
must  also  show  the  motive  of  the  speaker  in  other  respects.  In 
the  sentence,  "  You  are  going  to  vote  for  me,  aren't  you  ?**  the 
words  "aren't  you  *  *  are  emphasized  no  matter  what  the  motive. 
The  melody,  however,  may  differ  materially.  If  the  one  speak- 
ing is  merely  coaxing,  the  voice  will  rise,  and  then  fall,  a 
circumflex  inflection,  thus,  "You  are  going  to  vote  for  me, 
aren't  you  ?  "  If  the  one  speaking  is  threatening,  the  inflection 
will  take  an  upward  turn.  In  each  case  the  melody  reveals  the 
motive  in  the  mind  of  the  speaker.  A  person  says,  "Such 
pleasant  weather, "  and  we  know  that  he  rneans  what  he  says. 
On  a  stormy  day,  he  may  say,  "  Such  pleasant  weather,"  and 
we  know  that  he  means  the  very  opposite  of  what  his  words 
without  melody  mean.  A  person  may  say  at  one  time,  "  The 
work  is"|  not  |  half  done. '  *  At  another  he  may  express  an  idea 
exactly  opposite  by  saying  "  The  work  is  not  half  done. ' ' 

In  conversation,  no  mistakes  are  made  in  melody,  either  by 
adults  or  by  children.  Neither  are  mistakes  made  in  interpret- 
ing melody.  Children  recognize  the  patronizing  teacher  by  the 
inflection  of  her  words,  and  they  accordingly  hate  her.  She 
wonders  why  her  pupils  do  not  love  her,  when  her  motive  to  flat- 
ter and  deceive  is  revealed  in  every  word  she  speaks.    This  is 


MELODY  27 


also  the  reason  why  the  directions  from  one  teacher  are  quickly 
and  completely  obeyed,  while  those  of  another  are  almost 
ignored.  The  children  recognize,  by  the  melody  of  the  words 
of  the  one,  that  she  intends  to  be  obeyed,  and  by  the  melody 
of  the  words  of  the  other,  that  she  is  not  really  in  earnest. 
The  second  teacher  cannot  imitate  the  manner  of  the  first, 
without  an  actual  change  in  methods  of  discipline.  If,  how- 
ever, she  reforms,  and  really  intends  to  follow  words  by  acts, 
the  children  will  recognize  in  her  words,  also,  the  earnestness 
of  the  motive. 

So  also,  a  reader  cannot  give  a  required  inflection  with- 
out having  in  his  mind  the  motive.  Therefore  the  teacher 
must  see  to  it  that  the  pupil  has  the  thought  in  his  mind. 
Then,  if  there  is  no  obstacle,  such  as  embarrassment,  the 
melody  will  be  correct.  There  is  no  other  way  of  getting 
correct  melody. 

An  illustration.  At  the  beginning  of  Antony's  speech,  he 
says,  "For  Brutus  is  an  honorable  man. ' '  "Honorable ' '  is  em- 
phatic, and  the  melody  is  commonplace.  Later  in  the  speech, 
Antony's  motive  changes,  and  to  show  the  new  motive,  the 
word  must  be  given  an  entirely  different  inflection.  Graphically 
represented,  the_first  would   be  something  like   this,  "  For 

Brutus  is  an  honorable  man. ' '    Later  in  the  speech  it  becomes, 
— \  ^ — \ 

"  For  Brutus  is  an  honorable  man. "  It  is  not  necessary  to 
analyze  this  inflection.  In  the  grades,  such  analysis  will  not 
aid  in  securing  good  expression.  One  thing  and  one  only  will 
secure  it,  and  that  one  thing  is  for  the  reader  to  have  in  his  mind 
the  irony  in  which  Antony  spoke  the  sentence. 

It  would  not  be  profitable  to  make  an  extended  analysis  of 
pitch  and  melody  at  this  time.  For  convenience,  however,  we 
give  the  following  summary  of  the  principal  uses  of  key  and  in- 
flection, as  found  in  most  works  on  the  subject.    It  is  not  to  be 


28  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

thought  that  this  summary  includes  all  the  uses  of  melody. 
Indeed,  no  work  can  do  so.    Herein  lies  one  of  the  reasons 
why  such  works  are  not  more  useful  to  a  teacher. 
A  high  key,  the  average  pitch  of  the  melody,  marks : 
a. — Strong  desire  to  communicate  thought. 

Example, — ''Friends,  Romans,  Countrymen!    lend  me 
your  ears. ' ' 
b. — High  nervous  strain. 

Example, — "Charge,  Chester,  charge!  On,  Stanley,  on!" 
A  low  key  marks: 
a. — Controlled  mental  conditions. 

Example, — "  The  curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting  day.  *' 
b. — Little  or  no  desire  to  communicate  thought. 

Example, — "  To  be  or  not  to  be,  that  is  the  question. '  * 
The  falling  inflection  marks: 

a. — Completeness.  

Example, — "  I  come  to  bury  Caesar,  not  to  praise  him. '  * 
b.— Momentary  completeness. 

Example, -—"And  turned  away  and  spake   to  his  own 
s^l." 
c. — Decreased  nervous  tension. 

Example, — "It  is  finished,  all  is  over. ' ' 
The  rising  inflection  marks: 
a. — Increased  nervous  tension. 

Example,— " What!    I  a  coward?'* 
b. — Uncertainty. 

Example,—"  I  don't  know  about  that  ? ' ' 
c. —  Question  to  be  answered  by  yes,  or  no. 

Example,—"  Are  you  going  home  ? ' ' 
The  circumflex  inflection,  one  made  by  a  rising,  and  then 
a  faUing  inflection,  or  by  a  falling  and  then  a  rising  inflection, 
marks  some  complex  mental  conditions,    including   contrast. 


MELODY  29 


In,  "  Brutus  is  an  honorable  man, ' '  the  inflection  is  affected 
by  the  two  ideas  of  what  Brutus  is  called,  and__what  Brutus 
really  is.  "  A-a-a-ah!  I  have  caught  you  n-o-o-o-w!**  Here 
are  the  elements,  "  You  thought  you  were  safe,  but  I  have 
caught  you  anyhow. ' ' 

"Julius  Caesar,  the  Emperor  of  Rome."  was  his  friend.  Here 
we  find  Caesar  so  important  that  it  is  marked  by  a  falling 
inflection,  but  the  looking  forward  of  the  mind  complicates  the 
situation  and  adds  an  upward  turn  to  the  falling  inflection, 
giving  a  circumflex  inflection.  This  pointing  forward  of  the 
voice,  to  indicate  that  the  thought  is  not  yet  completed,  is  a 
subject  of  such  importance  that  it  must  be  studied  more  par- 
ticularly. 

The  motive  of  the  speaker  in  regard  to  the  succession 
of  ideas  is  shown  by  melody.  Take  for  example  the  sentence 
from  Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps'  "Mary  Elizabeth,"— "  She 
was  poor,  she  was  sick,  she  was  dirty,  she  was  cold,  she  was 
hungry,  she  was  frightened. ' '  If  the  reader  decides  that  this 
is  a  climax,  that  "  frightened  "is  the  most  important  thing  of 
all,  that  it  is  in  the  mind  of  the  story-teller  from  the  begin- 
ning, then  the  reader  must  make  the  melody  point  on  and 
on,  until  the  climax  is  reached.  Something  like  this  will  re- 
sult: "  She  was  poor,  she  was  sick,  she  was  ragged,  she  was 
cold,  she  was  hungry,  she  was  frightened. ' '  If,  however,  the 
reader  believes  that  this  is  not  a  climax,  that  it  is  only  a  cata- 
log of  wretchedness,  that  each  thing  is  in  itself  enough  misery 
for  one  small  girl,  then  the  melody  must  indicate  this  motive 
by  a  slight  falling  inflection  on  each  of  the  important  words. 
This  indicates  momentary  completeness.  It  means  that  the 
mind  is  almost  filled  by  the  idea,  although  it  is  still  but  a  part 
of  the  full  thought. 

This  falling  inflection  is  very  different  from  the  inflection  at 


30  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

the  end  of  the  sentence.  It  is,  at  most,  but  a  tipping  down- 
ward of  but  one  word.  At  the  end  of  a  sentence,  the  voice 
usually  rises  and  then  falls  in  two  or  even  three  successive  steps. 
The  sentence  read  with  the  second  interpretation,  would  be 
something  like  the  following: — "  She  was  poor,  she  was  sick, 
she  was  dirty,  she  was  ragged,  she  was  cold,  she  was  hungry, 
she  was  frightened." 

Another  sentence  from  the  same  selection,  illustrating  the 
same  things,  is  this  one:  "  Whether  the  door-keeper  was  away, 
or  busy,  or  sick,  or  careless,  or  whether  the  head-waiter  at  the 
dining-room  door  was  so  tall  that  he  couldn't  see  so  short  a 
beggar,  or  however  it  was,  Mary  Elizabeth  did  get  in;  by  the 
door-keeper,  past  the  head-waiter,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
clerk,  over  the  smooth,  slippery  marble  floor,  the  child  crept 
on. '  *  In  the  sentence,  there  are  two  very  important  ideas, 
"did  get  in,"  and  "  the  child  crept  on. ' '  The  voice  will  point 
onward  with  even  or  upward  inflections  until  the  first  is 
reached,  then  a  downward  turn  will  mark  the  momentary 
completeness  at  the  word  "in,"  or,  it  will  have  an  upward 
turn  at  the  end  of  the  downward  inflection,  and  will  indicate 
to  no  one  that  the  thought  is  completed.  In  the  last  half  of 
the  sentence,  phrase  after  phrase  points  on,  until  the  sentence 
rounds  out  in  the  most  important  thing  of  all,  "  the  child  crept 
^.'' 

In  the  following  poem  the  falling  inflections  are  marked,  the 
rising,  momentary  completeness,  and  even  inflection : 

CROSSING  THE  BAR 

Sunset  and  evening  star,  — 

And  one  clear  call  for  me :  \ 

And  may  there  be  no  moaning  of  the  bar,  — 

When  I  put  out  to  sea,  \ 


MELODY  31 


But  such  a  tide  as  moving  seems  asleep,  — 

Too  full  for  sound  and  foam,  — 

When  that  which  drew  from  out  the  boundless  deep  — 

Turns  again  home .  \ 

Twilight  and  evening  bell,  — 

And  after  that  the  dark!  \ 

And  may  there  be  no  sadness  of  farewell,  — 

When  I  embark ;  \ 

For  though  from  out  our  bourne  of  time  and  place,  — 
The  flood  may  bear  me  far,  / 

I  hope  to  see  my  Pilot  \ face  to  face  \ 

When  I  have  crost  the  bar.  \ 

Tennyson. 

In  succession  of  ideas,  as  in  the  case  of  single  words 
and  phrases,  the  teacher  must  work  through  the  thought. 

Let  it  be  said,  once  more,  that  the  analysis  of  melody  will  not 
help  the  pupil  to  give  good  expression.  If  he  knows  the  whole 
thought,  and  has  the  whole  thought  in  his  mind,  he  will  give  it. 
The  teacher  must  see  to  it  that  these  two  requirements  are  met. 
For  example,  remember  the  two  interpretations  of  the  sentence, 
"  She  was  poor,  she  was  sick,  she  was  dirty,  she  was  ragged,  she 
was  cold,  she  was  hungry,  she  was  frightened. ' '  Whichever 
interpretation  be  selected,  the  teacher  should  not  talk  to  the  pu- 
pil about  climaxes,  and  upward  inflections,  and  momentary 
completeness,  and  so  on.  If  the  climax  interpretation  is  select- 
ed, the  teacher  should  see  to  it  that  the  child  thinks  of  ''fright- 
ened, ' '  as  being  the  worst  thing  of  all,  that  he  has  this  in  his 
mind  from  the  beginning,  and  that  he  knows  that  this  word 
will  be  the  end  of  the  thought.  If  the  other  interpretation  is 
selected,  she  should  speak  of  the  troubles  separately,  allowing 
each  one  to  fill  the  mind  of  the  child  as  he  reads  it. 

The  child  should  be  taught  to  read  by  sentences.    When 
he  becomes  a  good  reader,  his  eye  will  travel  far  ahead  of  his 


32  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

tongue.  To  train  this  skill,  a  child  should  be  given  time  to 
glance  through  a  sentence  before  he  begins  to  speak  it.  Such  a 
sentence  as  the  second  given  from  "  Mary  Elizabeth"  can  be 
read  well  by  no  one,  without  such  a  preparation.  In  the  lower 
grades  where  sentences  are  short,  the  "  Look  and  Say"  method 
should  be  used  for  weeks  at  a  time.  Have  the  child  read  the 
sentence  silently,  close  the  book,  keeping  a  finger  in  the  place, 
and  say  it.  This  is  a  splendid  device  for  getting  thoughtful 
reading  and  good  expression.  Yet  this  sometimes  happens. 
The  child  glances  at  a  sentence,  getting  the  thought  at  a  glance, 
looks  up  at  the  teacher,  and  says  the  sentence  correctly  and 
eagerly;  and  then  the  teacher  snaps  out,  "  Look  at  your 
book  and  read  it."  The  teacher  is  wrong.  The  pupil  is 
right.  He  has  gotten  the  thought  and  given  the  thought. 
This  is  reading. 


OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  HI. 
MELODY 
Melody  and  emphasis. 

The  function  of  melody. 

The  main  idea. 

A  new  idea. 

Related  ideas. 

Training  children  to  find  main  ideas. 

The  circumflex  inflection  indicating  contrast  in  main  ideas. 

An  example. 
Melody  and  the  motive  of  the  speaker. 

Necessity  of  having  the  motive  in  the  mind. 

Function  of  different  melodies. 
Key. 

High  key. 

Low  key. 
Inflection. 

Falling  inflection. 

Rising  inflection. 


MELODY  33 


Circumflex  inflection. 
Succession  of  ideas. 
Illustration. 
Methods  of  work. 

FOR  REVIEW  AND  SUGGESTION 

1 .  What  is  the  function  of  melody  ? 

2.  What  is  a  main  idea  ? 

3.  What  makes  an  idea  important  ? 

4.  How  often,  in  the  same  selection,  may  the  same  idea  be  impor- 
tant? 

5.  How  early  can  the  child  be  expected  to  give  expressive  reading? 

6.  Can  a  sentence  be  read  correctly  without  a  knowledge  of  the 
context  ?    When  ? 

7.  How  much  should  children  be  taught  about  melody  ? 

8.  What  is  the  peculiar  melody  in  emphasis  of  contrast  ? 

9.  What  is  the  effect  of  trying  to  emphasize  too  many  words? 

10.  What  office  does  melody  perform  besides  indicating  main  ideas? 

11.  How  can  you  say,  "She  is  a  sweet  lady,"  and  mean  the  opposite? 

12.  Can  a  reader  give  a  thought  that  is  not  in  his  own  mind? 

13.  What  determines  key? 

14.  What  may  a  falling  inflection  indicate?     A  rising?    A  circum- 
flex? 

T5.  How  can  a  pupil  be  trained  to  read  periodic  sentences? 

16.  How  can  pupils  be  trained  to  read  by  sentences? 

17.  Should  children  ever  be  allowed  to  cut  up  sentences  in  reading 
them?    When? 

18.  Should  children  be  required  to  look  at  the  text  as  they  read  ? 


CHAPTER  IV 
FORCE 

Before  proceeding  with  the  subject  of  force  and  also 
with  that  of  quality,  it  is  necessary  to  make  clear  the 
distinction  between  reading,  declaiming,  and  acting.  Read- 
ing has  been  confused  many  times  with  declaiming  and  acting, 
much  to  the  detriment  of  reading.  The  teaching  of  reading  is 
injured,  rather  than  helped,  by  the  methods  of  the  elocutionist. 
The  function  of  acting  is  to  create  ideas  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  see  and  hear.  The  actor  does  this  by  imitating,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  actions  of  a  person  in  the  imagined  circumstances. 
He  is  assisted  by  costumes,  cosmetics,  elaborate  scenery,  and 
ingenious  stage  devices  for  imitating  the  real  conditions. 
There  are,  however,  certain  limitations.  The  action  of  years 
must  be  portrayed  in  an  evening,  a  dozen  men  must  serve  for  an 
army.  The  muttered  asides  of  the  villain  must  be  pronounced 
in  a  tone  audible  to  hundreds  of  people. 

The  function  of  declaiming  is  also  to  create  certain  ideas  in 
the  minds  of  those  who  see  and  hear.  It  differs  from  acting, 
principally,  in  the  increased  number  of  disadvantages.  No 
assistance  can  be  gotten  from  scenery  and  stage  contrivances, 
and  but  little  from  costume  and  cosmetics.  The  declaimer 
must  get  along  without  even  a  dozen  men  in  his  army. 
Still,  imitation,  though  helped  largely  by  suggestion,  is  the 
purpose  of  the  declaimer.  The  hapless  heroine  wrings  her 
hands  and  sinks  swooning  to  the  floor.  The  valiant  warrior 
draws  and  flourishes  his  imaginary  sword.  The  lash  of  the 
noble  Ben  Hur  writhes  and  hisses,  and  hisses  and  writhes  again 
and  again  over  the  backs  of  his  four. 


FORCE  35 


The  function  of  reading  is  very  different  from  that  of 
acting  or  declaiming.  It  is  twofold,  and  the  most  important 
of  the  two  purposes  is  not  in  acting  or  declaiming  at  all. 
More  than  nine-tenths  of  reading  is  silent  reading,  and  its 
purpose  is  wholly  the  getting  of  thought.  Of  oral  reading,  the 
purpose  is  to  convey  thought,  and  to  create  ideas  hy  means  of 
suggestion^  not  at  all  hy  means  of  imitation.  The  sooner  the 
teacher  of  reading  gets  the  idea  of  imitating  out  of  her  mind, 
the  better  it  is  for  her  pupils.  The  idea  of  a  person  reading 
should  not  be  the  picture  of  a  person  speaking  from  a  platform, 
but  rather  that  of  a  gentleman  in  his  library  reading  to  his 
friends,  or  of  a  lady  by  the  bedside  of  a  sick  friend,  or  of  a 
school-boy  standing  by  his  seat  reading  to  his  fellows.  With 
this  idea  of  reading  in  our  minds,  let  us  turn  to  the  subject  of 
force. 

Force  manifests  the  degree  of  mental  energy  in  the 
mind  of  the  speaker.  It  results  in  an  increased  muscular 
tension  of  the  organs  of  speech.  When  force  is  in  the  nature  of 
an  explosive  utterance,  followed  by  a  diminishing  of  effort,  it  is 
said  to  have  radical  stress.  The  stress  is  on  the  first 
of  the  syllable  or  word.  It  arises  from  the  personal  energy 
or  the  personal  emotion  of  the  speaker.  The  teacher  says, 
"  Children,  be  quiet!"  The  expression  shows  her  determin- 
ation to  have  silence.  The  force  arises  from  her  own 
energy. 

Another  and  less  common  kind  of  stress  is  final  stress. 
This  is  found  where  the  force  arises  from  the  object  mentioned, 
not  from  the  speaker,  as  for  example,  *'What!  you!  is  it  you!" 
A  third  kind  of  stress  is  median  stress.  Here  the  energy  is 
greatest  at  the  middle  of  the  expression;  as  "  This  was  the 
noblest  Roman  of  them  all.'* 

This  classification  may  be  of  service  to  the  teacher, 
but  not  to  the  pupil.    All  work  with  the  pupil  must  be 


36  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

through  the  thought;  and  suggestion,  not  imitation,  is  the 
result.     Take  for  example  the  lines  from  ''Barbara  Frietchie:'* 

Up  the  street  came  the  rebel  tread, 
Stonewall  Jackson  riding  ahead. 

Under  his  slouched  hat  left  and  right 
He  glanced;  the  old  flag  met  his  sight. 

"Halt!" — the  dust-brown  ranks  stood  fast; 
"Fire!" — out  blazed  the  rifle-blast. 

We  should  not  attempt  to  have  the  pupil  imitate  the  sound 
of  the  general 's  voice,  as  he  gave  the  command.  If  he  spoke 
as  the  military  officers  of  today  issue  commands  to  troops, 
what  he  said  sounded  far  more  like  "  Ho-o-o-w-w"  than  like 
**  Halt. "  However,  the  question  to  the  pupils,  ''  How  do  you 
think  he  spoke  the  words?"  is  not  out  of  place:  for  the  ques- 
tion will  bring  to  the  minds  of  the  pupils  the  fact  that  this  man 
was  the  commander,  that  what  he  said  was  done  without 
hesitation;  and  he  said,  "Halt!"  "Fire!"  If  a  pupil  has 
this  in  his  voice,  as  he  speaks  the  words,  a  tone  of  energy  and 
of  command,  this  tone,  this  suggestion,  is  what  we  want,  not 
loudness. 

When  we  reach  the  next  words  of  the  general,  let  the  pupil 
think  once  more  that  this  was  the  general,  that  his  word  was 
law,  that  if  he  should  command  his  men  to  place  a  comrade 
against  the  wall  and  shoot  him,  it  would  be  done.  Let  the 
pupil  remember  that  this  general  knew  his  power,  and  that 
he  used  it,  that  he  said  what  he  meant  and  nothing  but  what 
he  meant.    With  all  this  in  mind  let  the  pupil  read: 

"  Who  touches  a  hair  of  yon  gray  head 
Dies  Uke  a  dog!  March  on, ' '  he  said. 

The  problem  of  the  teacher  is  to  get  the  reader  to  imag- 
ine the  situation  of  the  speaker  in  a  selection.  When  this  is 


FORCE  37 

accomplished,  the  words  of  the  reader  will  come  with  such  force 
as  to  suggest  the  emotions  of  the  original  speaker.  Let  us  be 
satisfied  with  this,  and  not  attempt  to  secure  imitation.  Stress 
denotes  the  state  of  the  mind.  The  only  way  to  secure  it  in 
the  right  place  is  to  secure  the  right  state  of  mind. 

The  following  extracts  show  the  kind  of  selections  in  the 
reading  of  which  we  may  most  easily  get  forceful  expression 
from  pupils. 

"One  day  we  left  our  dolls  under  a  big  pine,  while  we  ran  ofif  to  wade 
for  a  few  minutes.     When  we  came  back,  not  one  was  to  be  seen. 

"  We  hunted  and  hunted,  and  at  last  I  happened  to  look  up.  What  do 
you  think  I  saw  ?  Those  eleven  dolls  were  hanging  by  their  necks  to  the 
branches! 

"  Donald  stood  near  laughing.  '  Santa  Claus  has  given  you  a  new 
Christmas  tree,'  he  jeered,  'and  more  girl-dolls.' 

"  Then  he  began  to  throw  stones  at  them.  We  screamed  and  begged 
him  to  stop,  but  he  kept  on. 

"At  last  he  hit  Amy  Marston's '  Flora,'  and  we  heard  the  face  smash  in. 
Now  Amy  was  a  httle  girl,  but  we  all  loved  her,  and  Donald  had  been  her 
slave  the  summer  before. 

"  Amy  turned  perfectly  white  and  screamed:  'You've  killed  her!  You've 
killed  my  precious  dolly!  '  then  she  fell  right  on  the  ground. 

"  We  were  so  frightened!  Some  one  ran  and  picked  Amy  up,  and 
some  one  else  ran  for  her  mother. ' ' 

The  Heath  Readers,  Book  Three. 

Sheridan  now  put  spurs  to  his  steed,  and  galloped  along  the  road, 
swinging  his  hat  to  the  soldiers,  who  watched  him  dashing  past.  He  called 
out  cheerily  to  them :  "  Face  the  other  way,  boys;  we're  going  back!  ' ' 

Galloping  thus  for  twenty  miles,  Sheridan  rode  on,  mile  after  mile. 
But  all  through  that  long  gallop  his  noble  steed  never  faltered,  and  the 
men,  hearing  his  "Turn  boys,  turn,  we're  going  back!"  followed  him 
blindly. 

When  Sheridan  finally  came  up  to  the  troops,  he  encouraged  them  by 
crying:  "  Never  mind,  boys,  we'll  whip  them  yet.  We  shall  sleep  in  our 
old  quarters  to-night. ' ' 

H.  A.  GuERBER,  Story  of  the  Great  Republic. 


38  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 


THE  FLAG  GOES  BY 

Hats  off! 
Along  the  street  there  comes 
A  blare  of  bugles,  a  ruffle  of  drums, 
A  flash  of  color  beneath  the  sky; 

Hats  off! 
The  flag  is  passing  by ! 

Blue  and  crimson  and  white  it  shines, 
Over  the  steel-tipped,  ordered  lines, 

Hats  off! 
The  Colors  before  us  fly; 
But  more  than  the  Flag  is  passing  by. 

Sea-fights  and  land-fights,  grim  and  great, 
Fought  to  make  and  to  save  the  State; 
Weary  marches,  and  sinking  ships; 
Cheers  of  victory  on  dying  lips; 

Days  of  plenty  and  years  of  peace; 
March  of  a  strong  land's  swift  increase; 
Equal  justice,  right,  and  law, 
Stately  honor  and  reverend  awe; 

Sign  of  a  Nation,  great  and  strong 
To  ward  her  people  from  foreign  wrong; 
Pride  and  glory  and  honor,  all 
Live  in  the  Colors  to  stand  or  fall. 

Hats  off! 
Along  the  street  there  comes 
A  blare  of  bugles,  a  ruffle  of  drums, 
And  loyal  hearts  are  beating  high; 

Hats  off! 
The  flag  is  passing  by! 

Henry  Holcomb  Bennett. 


FORCE  39 


OUTLINE   OF   CHAPTER  IV 
FORCE 
The  difference  between  reading,  declaiming,  and  acting. 
Acting, —  imitation. 

Declaiming, —  imitation  and  suggestion. 
Reading. 

Silent,  gleaming  of  thought, 
Oral,  transfer  of  thought,  suggestion. 
The  function  of  force. 
Stress. 

Kinds  of  stress. 
Radical  stress. 
Final  stress. 
Median  stress. 
Method  of  work. 
The  teacher's  problem. 
Exercises, 

FOR  REVIEW  AND  SUGGESTION 

1.  What  is  the  difference  between  acting,  declaiming,  and  reading? 

2.  Under  what  circumstances  is  it  profitable  to  have  the  pupils  hear 
elocutionists  and  actors? 

3.  What  idea  of  reading  should  a  teacher  have  in  mind? 

4.  What  does  force  indicate? 

5.  Of  what  physiological  condition  is  force  the  result? 

6.  What  is  stress?    Distinguish  the  kinds  of  stress. 

7.  How  should  a  pupil  read,  "I  heard  the  thunder  roll"?    Why 
should  he  read  it  so  ? 

8.  How  can  the  teacher  secure  false  or  affected  force  ? 

9.  How  can  the  teacher  secure  genuine,  heartfelt  force  ? 

10.    Name  some  selections  suitable  for  reading  to  illustrate  force. 


CHAPTER  V 
QUALITY 

The  quality  of  the  voice  of  the  reader  indicates  the  emo- 
tion. A  reader  controls  his  utterance  in  regard  to  time,  and 
thereby  indicates  the  importance  or  largeness  of  the  thought. 
He  changes  the  pitch  of  his  words,  and  thus  exhibits  motives. 
He  uses  different  degrees  of  muscular  energy,  and  thereby  dis- 
plays his  earnestness.  By  changing  the  position  of  the  organs 
of  speech,  he  can  change  the  actual  quality  of  the  sound  of  his 
voice.  By  movements  of  the  tongue,  the  larynx,  and  the  palate, 
he  can  affect  the  size  and  shape  of  the  cavities  through  which 
the  sound  moves.  He  can  do  this  to  some  extent  voluntarily. 
The  greatest  changes  are,  however,  caused  by  the  influence 
of  emotion.  Thus  we  have  come  to  recognize  the  emotional 
state  of  the  speaker  by  the  quahty  of  voice  resulting  from 
these  muscular  changes.  So  the  reader  who  wishes  to  express 
emotions  must  use  tones  of  proper  quality.  If  he  wishes  to 
express  sorrow,  his  voice  must  have  the  quality  that  we  recog- 
nize as  the  effect  of  sorrow.  If  he  wishes  to  express  hate,  he 
must  produce  that  quality  given  by  the  vocal  organs  when 
under  the  influence  of  hate.  Enthusiasm,  discouragement, 
benevolence,  awe,  anger,  jealousy,  all  must  be  shown  by  the 
quality  of  the  voice.  In  short,  the  good  reader  must  be  a 
master  of  a  musical  instrument,  the  human  voice,  in  compari- 
son with  whose  marvelous  power,  flexibility,  and  delicacy, 
man-created  instruments,  even  the  master-pieces  of  Stradi- 
varius,  or  the  greatest  organs  of  the  greatest  builders,  must 
sink  in  hopeless  inferiority. 

The  number  of  different  qualities  of  the  voice  is  almost 

-      V40 


QUALITY  41 


infinite.  Some  of  the  most  common  have  been  named  and 
classified.  That  called  by  singers  the  bright,  ringing  quality  is 
produced  when  the  organs  of  speech  are  influenced  by  the  emo- 
tions of  joy,  happiness,  liveliness  and  the  like.    For  example: 

Has  there  any  old  fellow  got  mixed  with  the  boys  ? 
If  there  has  take  him  out,  without  making  a  noise. 
Hang  the  almanac's  cheat  and  the  catalogue's  spite; 
Old  Time  is  a  Uar!    We're  twenty  to-night! 
We're  twenty,  we're  twenty!  Who  says  we  are  more  ? 
He's  tipsy,  — young  jackanapes!  —  show  him  the  door! 
"  Gray  temples  at  twenty?  " — •  Yes,  white  if  we  please; 
Where  the  snowflakes  fall  thickest  there's  nothing  can  freeze. 

Holmes. 

Hurrah, hurrah  for  Sheridan! 

Hurrah,  hurrah  for  horse  and  man ! 

And  when  their  statues  are  placed  on  high, 

Under  the  dome  of  the  Union  sky, 

The  American  soldier's  Temple  of  Fame, 

There  with  the  glorious  General's  name. 

Be  it  said  in  letters  both  bold  and  bright; 

"  Here  is  the  steed  that  saved  the  day. 

By  carrying  Sheridan  into  the  fight 

From  Winchester,  twenty  miles  away!  ' ' 

Thomas  Buchanan  Read. 

What  is  called  the  dark,  sombre,  covered  tone  is  produced 
by  the  influence  of  gloom,  sorrow,  sadness,  discouragement, 
and  the  like. 

Good-by,  proud  world!  I'm  going  home; 

Thou'rt  not  my  friend,  and  I'm  not  thine; 
Long  through  the  weary  crowds  I  roam, 

A  river  ark  on  the  ocean  brine; 
Long  I've  been  tossed  like  the  driven  foam. 
And  now,  proud  world,  I'm  going  home. 

Emerson. 
The  organs  of  speech  when  not  changed  from  the  normal 
by  any  emotion  give  the  quality  called  normal.      Example: 


42  ESSENTIALS    OF   READING 

If  to  do  were  as  easy  as  to  know  what  were  good  to  do,  chapels  had  been 
churches,  and  poor  men's  cottages  princes'  palaces.     It  is  a  good  divine 
that  follows  his  own  instructions:  I  can  easier  teach  twenty  what  were 
J  good  to  be  done,  than  be  one  of  the  twenty  to  follow  mine  own  teaching. 

The  brain  may  devise  laws  for  the  blood,  but  a  hot  temper  leaps  o'er  a  cold 
decree:  such  a  hare  is  madness  the  youth  to  skip  o'er  the  meshes  of 
good  counsel  the  cripple. 

Shakespeare. 

The  voice  when  affected  by  deep,  full,  enlarged  feeling  takes 
a  rich,  full  quality  called  the  orotund.  It  is  not  necessarily 
accompanied  by  loudness.  It  comes  naturally  to  the  trained 
reader  in  reading  passages  of  sublimity  and  grandeur.  It  is 
the  evidence  of  exalted  feeling.    Examples: 

Roll  on,  thou  deep  and  dark  blue  ocean — roll! 

Ten  thousand  fleets  sweep  over  thee  in  vain; 

Man  marks  the  earth  with  ruin — his  control 

Stops  with  the  shore;  upon  the  watery  plain 

The  wrecks  are  all  thy  deeds,  nor  doth  remain 

A  shadow  of  man's  ravage,  save  his  own, 

When  for  a  moment,  like  a  drop  of  rain. 

He  sinks  into  thy  depths  with  bubbling  groan, 

Without  a  grave,  unknelled,  uncoffined,  and  unknown. 

Byron. 

It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining  be- 
fore us — that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  that 
cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion;  that  we  here 
highly  resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain;  that  this  na- 
tion, under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom;  and  that  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the 

earth. 
_  Abraham  Lincoln. 

The  quality  of  the  voice  when  influenced  by  harsh  and  severe 
emotions  that  contract  the  muscles  of  the  throat  is  called 
guttural.    Hate,  scorn,  derision,  have  this  quaUty.    Examples: 


QUALITY  43 


Shylock  (aside) .  How  like  a  fawning  publican  he  looks! 
I  hate  him,  for  he  is  a  Christian, 

But  more  for  that  in  low  simplicity  ^ 

He  lends  out  money  gratis  and  brings  down  ^ 

The  rate  of  usance  here  in  Venice. 
If  I  can  catch  him  once  upon  the  hip, 
I  will  feed  fat  the  ancient  grudge  I  bear  him. 

Shakespeare. 

The  aspirated  quality  may  be  produced  by  any  emotion 
that  produces  the  feeling  of  oppression.  It  may  be  fear,  exhaus- 
tion, excitement,  awe,  terror,  hate,  or  some  others.    Examples: 
Macbeth.    Whence  is  that  knocking  ? 
How  is't  with  me  when  every  noise  appalls  me  ? 
What  hands  are  here?    Ha!  they  pluck  out  mine  eyes. 
Will  all  great  Neptune's  ocean  wash  this  blood 
Clean  from  my  hand?    No;  this  my  hand  will  rather 
The  multitudinous  seas  incarnadine, 
Making  the  green  one  red. 

Shakespeare. 

Macduff.    Approach  the  chamber,  and  destroy  your  sight 
With  a  new  Gorgon.    Do  not  bid  me  speak; 
See,  and  then  speak  yourself. 

{Exeunt  Macbeth  and  Lennox.) 

Awake,  awake! 
Ring  the  alarm  bell,  —  Murther  and  treason! 
Banquo  and  Donalbain! — Malcolm!  awake! 
Shake  off  this  downy  sleep,  death's  counterfeit, 
And  look  on  death  itself !   Up,  up,  and  see 
The  great  doom's  image!  Malcolm!  Banquo! 
As  from  your  graves  rise  up,  and  walk  like  sprites. 
To  countenance  this  horror.    Ring  the  bell. 

Shakespeare. 

These  qualities  are  the  principal  ones  recognized  in  manuals. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  there  are  not  only  many  more  qualities, 
but  those  given  mingle,  sometimes  in  complicated  ways.  The 
emotion  in  the  following  description  of  Jean  Valjean  in  the 


44  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

Bishop's  house  is  exceedingly  complex.  Fear,  stealth,  ferocity, 
remorse,  all  are  mingled,  and  the  quality  of  the  voice  is 
affected  by  all. 

When  three  o'clock  struck  it  seemed  to  say,  "To  work."  He  took 
from  his  pocket  a  piece  of  iron,  and  walked  toward  the  door  of  the  ad- 
joining room.  He  found  the  door  ajar.  He  pushed  it  boldly.  A 
badly  oiled  hinge  uttered  a  hoarse,  prolonged  cry.  Jean  Valjean  started, 
shuddering  and  dismayed.  A  few  minutes  passed;  nothing  had  stirred. 
He  heard  from  the  end  of  the  room  the  calm  and  regular  breathing  of 
the  sleeping  Bishop.     Suddenly  he  stooped,  for  he  was  close  to  the  bed. 

Victor  Hugo. 

All  these  qualities  of  the  voice  of  the  reader  indicate 
the  emotions.  There  is  no  mechanical  way  of  gaining  them 
or  of  putting  emotion  into  reading.  The  old-time  preacher 
who  wrote  in  the  margin  of  his  sermons  the  notes,  "Cry 
here"  and  * 'Solemn  voice  here,"  could  hardly  have  touched 
his  hearers.  Professor  Cumnock  once  told  with  great  disgust 
how  after  he  had  read  a  selection  that  brought  the  tears  to 
his  eyes,  a  hearer,  a  theological  student,  came  to  him  and 
said,  "  Mr.  Cumnock,  won't  you  please  tell  me  how  you 
make  yourself  cry  ?  " 

It  is  only  the  affected  reader  who  tries  to  put  into  the  reading, 
emotions  that  he  does  not  feel.  It  is  really  a  good  thing  that 
our  healthy  school  boys  refuse  even  to  attempt  to  indicate 
emotion  that  they  do  not  and  cannot  possibly  feel. 

The  teacher  should  not  talk  about  Orotund  and  Aspirate 
Qualities,  etc.  She  should  select  a  text  which  appeals  to 
emotions  the  children  have  felt.  What  boy  can  feel  the 
words  of  the  middle-aged  man! 

Blessings  on  thee,  little  man, 
Barefoot  boy  with  cheek  of  tan  ! 

«  :|c  *  He  *  ♦ 

From  my  heart  I  give  thee  joy, — 
I  was  once  a  barefoot  boy. 


QUALITY  45 


Many  things  the  children  have  in  their  own  experience,  many 
things  they  can  imagine.  Select  passages  having  these  things; 
patriotism,  love  of  nature,  self-sacrifice,  enthusiasm,  curiosity, 
wonder,  excitement,  all  of  these  can  be  used  to  affect  the  quality 
of  the  voice.  Make  them  see  the  pictures  of  the  scenes. 
Read  them  yourself.     Emotion  is  catching. 

Before  allowing  pupils  to  begin  the  reading  of  an  emotion- 
al selection,  see  that  they  catch  the  atmosphere  of  the  selec- 
tion. By  atmosphere  we  mean  the  general  spirit  of  the  selection. 
For  example,  before  reading  Tennyson's  "  Crossing  the  Bar," 
call  to  the  pupil's  attention  the  fact  that  when  Tennyson 
wrote  this  poem  he  was  eighty  years  old.  He  expected  death 
at  any  time.  He  was  looking  straight  into  the  future,  and  he 
was  calmly  resigned  to  meet  whatever  might  come. 

Tennyson's  ''  The  Knights'  Chorus "  shows  a  different 
atmosphere.  Call  attention  to  the  fact  that  Arthur  is  victorious, 
his  kingdom  is  established,  the  king's  glory  is  being  celebrated 
in  the  song  of  the  Knights: — 

Blow  trumpet,  for  the  world  is  white  with  May; 
Blow  trumpet,  the  long  night  hath  rolled  away! 
Blow  thro'  the  living  world — "Let  the  King  reign!" 

The  following  examples  illustrate  atmosphere:  — 

Haste  thee,  Nymph,  and  bring  with  thee 
Jest,  and  youthful  Jollity, 
Quips,  and  cranks,  and  wanton  wiles, 
Nods,  and  becks,  and  wreathed  smiles, 
Such  as  hang  on  Hebe's  cheek. 
And  love  to  hve  in  dimple  sleek; 
Sport,  that  wrinkled  Care  derides. 
And  Laughter  holding  both  his  sides. 
Come,  and  trip  it,  as  you  go, 
On  the  light,  fantastic  toe; 
And  in  thy  right  hand  lead  with  thee 
The  mountain  nymph,  sweet  Liberty; 


46  ESSENTIALS    OF    READING 

And  if  I  give  thee  honour  due, 
Mirth,  admit  me  of  thy  crew, 
To  live  with  her,  and  Uve  with  thee. 
In  unreproved  pleasures  free. 


Milton. 


The  curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting  day, 

The  lowing  herd  winds  slowly  o'er  the  lea. 
The  plowman  homeward  plods  his  weary  way, 

And  leaves  the  world  to  darkness,  and  to  me. 
Now  fades  the  glimmering  landscape  on  the  sight. 

And  all  the  air  a  solemn  stillness  holds. 
Save  where  the  beetle  wheels  his  droning  flight 

And  drowsy  tinklings  lull  the  distant  folds. 
Save  that  from  yonder  ivy-mantled  tower 

The  moping  owl  does  to  the  moon  complain 
Of  such  as,  wandering  near  her  secret  bower. 

Molest  her  ancient,  solitary  reign. 
Beneath  these  rugged  elms,  that  yew  tree's  shade. 

Where  heaves  the  turf  in  many  a  mould 'ring  heap, 
Each  in  his  narrow  cell  forever  laid. 

The  rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep. 

Gray. 

OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  V 

QUALITY 
Function  of  quality. 
Different  qualities. 

Bright,  ringing. 

Dark,  sombre. 

Normal. 

Orotund. 

Guttural. 

Aspirate. 
Other  qualities. 

Necessity  of  reader's  feeling  the  emotion.  . 
Selecting  text. 

Necessity  of  catching  the  atmosphere  of  the  selection. 
What  atmosphere  is. 
Examples  of  atmosphere. 


QUALITY  47 


FOR  REVIEW  AND  SUGGESTION 

1.  What   does   the   quality  of  the  voice  of  a  speaker  or  reader 
indicate  ? 

2.  To  what  extent  is  the  quality  of  the  voice  under  the  control  of 
the  speaker  or  reader  ? 

3.  How  can  a  reader  control  the  quality  of  the  voice? 

4.  What  are  the  qualities  of  the  voice  commonly  named  ? 

5.  What  does  each  indicate  ? 

6.  Through  what  means  should  a  teacher  strive  to  secure  reading 
that  portrays  the  emotions  of  a  selection  ? 

7.  What  kind  of  text  is  best  suited  to  children  who  are  trying  to 
read  with  emotion  ? 

8.  What  do  we  mean  by  the  atmosphere  of  a  selection  ? 

9.  How  can  the  atmosphere  of  a  selection  be  secured  ? 

10.     What  is  the  atmosphere  of  Poe's  "  Raven  "  ?  Wallace's  "  Char- 
iot Race  "  ?  Milton's  "Sonnet  on  His  Blindness"  ?  Lowell's  "Cortin"'? 


PART  II 
INTERPRETATIVE  READING 


CHAPTER  VI 
TYPES 

An  author  wishes  to  make  vivid  the  way  in  which  a  man 
passed  through  a  certain  town.  He  does  not  make  the  man  say 
that  he  walked  watchfully,  and  quietly,  and  fearfully,  and 
alertly.  He  makes  him  say,  "  I  stole  cat-footed  through  the 
town."  Why  not  say  "calf-footed?"  Because  the  author 
must  select  as  the  type  that  animal  of  all  animals  which  has 
in  the  greatest  degree  the  qualities  of  alertness,  and  stealth. 

An  author  often  omits  the  name  of  the  feeling  or  charac- 
teristic or  idea  he  wishes  to  express.  In  its  place  he  uses 
the  name  of  some  object  that  represents  in  a  very  high 
degree  that  feeling  or  characteristic  or  idea.  For  in- 
stance in  "He  was  a  lion  in  the  fight,"  "lion"  is  used  to 
represent  bravery  and  fierceness.  Such  an  object  is  said 
to  be  a  type  of  the  feeling  or  characteristic  or  idea  it 
represents. 

Longfellow  wishes  to  picture  the  beauty  of  the  dew-laden 
trees  of  Arcadia.    He  says: — 

Bright  with  the  sheen  of  the  dew  each  glittering  tree  of  the  forest, 
Flashed  like  the  plane-tree  the  Persian  adorned  with  mantles  and 
jewels. 

Sir  Walter  Scott  wishes  to  emphasize  the  fickleness  of  love. 
He  selects  as  a  type  the  flowing  and  ebbing  of  the  tide  in  Solway. 

I  long  wooed  your  daughter,  my  suit  you  denied, 
Love  swells  like  the  Solway,  but  ebbs  like  its  tide. 

Macaulay  wishes  to  show  the  greatness  of  the  Etruscan  army. 
He  selects  as  his  standard  of  comparison  the  ocean,  an  object 

51 


52  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

that  possesses  in  the  highest  degree  the  attributes  of  size  and 
power. 

Meanwhile  the  Tuscan  army, 

Right  glorious  to  behold, 
Came  flashing  back  the  noonday  light. 

Rank  behind  rank,  like  surges  bright 
Of  a  broad  sea  of  gold. 

The  study  of  figures  of  speech  is  best  taken  up  through 
types.  Metaphor  is  that  figure  of  speech  in  which  one  object 
is  said  to  be  another  because  of  some  type-quality  discovered  as 
common  to  both.  One  who  has  experienced  the  sense  of  pro- 
tection that  comes  from  shelter  behind  a  great  rock  in  the  des- 
ert at  the  time  of  a  storm  that  threatened  his  safety,  or  who  has 
escaped  within  the  walls  of  a  fortress  when  attacked  by  a  band 
of  enemies,  has  concrete  examples  of  conditions  that  afford  a 
high  degree  of  protection.  It  is  natural  that  such  a  one  should 
lay  hold  of  these  familiar  objects  to  represent  his  sense  of 
protection  when  under  the  care  of  Jehovah,  and  should  exclaim, 
"  Thou  art  my  rock  and  my  fortress."  He  has  in  mind  two 
distinct  pictures,  one  of  Jehovah  and  the  other  of  a  rock 
and  a  fortress.  He  declares  Jehovah  to  be  his  rock  and  for- 
tress because  his  sense  of  protection  under  Jehovah's  care  is  so 
great  and  so  complete  that  in  Jehovah  he  sees  in  the  highest 
degree  those  qualities  he  had  experienced  in  the  inanimate 
forms.  He  takes  Jehovah  as  his  ideal  of  the  quality  he  is  trying 
to  interpret.  The  protection  afforded  by  the  rock  and  the  for- 
tress is  subordinated  to  that  given  by  Jehovah.  This  is  meta- 
phor. If  the  writer  had  felt  the  sense  of  protection  from 
Jehovah  as  less  ideal  in  degree  than  that  afforded  by  the  physi- 
cal shelter,  if  his  sense  of  satisfaction  from  some  threatened 
danger  had  been  realized  more  fully  or  at  a  later  point  of  time 
in  the  case  of  the  rock  and  the  fortress,  he  would  have  said, 


TYPES S3 

*'Thou  art  like  a  rock  and  a  fortress  to  me.  **  This  would  be 
simile. 

Simile  is  that  figure  of  speech  in  which  one  object  is  said  to 
be  like  another.  As  in  the  case  of  metaphor,  the  analogy  is 
due  to  some  type-quality  common  to  both.  Again  there 
must  be  two  pictures  in  the  mind,  but  merely  similarity  is 
affirmed,  not  identity.  "  The  Ass)T:ian  came  down  like  the  wolf 
on  the  fold. ' '  The  reason  the  writer  cast  this  in  simile  is  be- 
cause to  his  mind  the  havoc  wrought  by  the  attack  of  the  fierce 
wolf  upon  a  defenceless  flock  of  sheep  represented  to  the 
highest  degree  the  effect  of  that  sudden  descent  of  the  Assyrians 
upon  the  unprepared  and  unsuspecting  camp.  It  is  difficult  to 
conceive  of  more  utter  rout  and  disaster  than  happens  to  sheep 
under  such  circumstances,  so  that  is  taken  as  the  type. 
The  effect  of  the  attack  of  the  Assyrians  is  subordinated  to 
it.  Simile  is  used  not  because  it  is  weaker,  but  because  it  best 
expresses  the  conditions  of  the  scene. 

Allegory  is  that  figure  in  which  a  literal  expression  is  capable 
of  figurative  interpretation.  To  be  pure  allegory,  it  must  be 
absolutely  capable  of  either  interpretation.  It  may  be  found  in 
a  word,  a  phrase,  a  clause,  a  sentence,  a  paragraph,  or  an  en- 
tire book.  It  is  commonly  thought  of  in  connection  with  the 
longer  units,  and  is  most  important  for  elementary  instruction 
in  that  form.  Allegory  resembles  metaphor  and  simile  in 
kind,  but  differs  in  degree.  There  is  similiarity  as  the  basis. 
It  is  also  an  attempt  to  visualize  some  spiritual  quality  through 
a  familiar  literal  form.  It  differs  from  the  two  other  figures  in 
the  fact  that  but  one  picture  is  in  consciousness  at  first.  The 
literal  must  be  so  vivid  that  it  holds  all  the  attention  for  the 
moment.  The  interpretation  must  be  in  sub-consciousness,  or 
must  follow  a  moment   later. 

"Pilgrim's  Progress  "  is  the  most  famous  type  of  extended 
allegory.    Many  of  our  best  hymns  are  allegorical,  though  they 


54  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

change  their  form,  generally  in  an  attempt  to  cause  more  com- 
plete interpretation  of  the  feelings  of  the  writer.  "  Rock  of 
Ages,  cleft  for  me, ' '  is  mostly  allegory.  Parables  are  allegories 
that  serve  to  teach  some  religious  truth.  Fables  are  allegories 
that  are  intended  for  ethical  instruction. 

Figures  change  from  one  to  another  as  best  serves  the  writer's 
purpose.  Teachers  should  make  their  own  grasp  of  the  sub- 
ject firm  by  working  out  many  examples  through  all  the  de- 
grees of  energy  involved  in  each  change  so  as  to  see  to  their  own 
satisfaction  that  there  is  a  reason  for  the  form  used.  Good 
writers  do  not  use  figures  merely  as  an  embellishment,  as  is 
sometimes  believed  to  be  the  case.  If  they  are  true  to  nature, 
they  use  the  form  that  best  carries  their  meaning.  They  may 
be  over-imaginative,  and  their  readers  may  fail  to  be  moved  as 
they  were  by  the  influence  of  the  type-qualities  portrayed. 
That  is  not  the  fault  of  the  writer.  It  is  the  duty  of  the 
reader  to  try  to  put  himself  into  a  condition  to  be  responsive 
in  kind  and  in  degree  to  the  same  feelings  that  moved  the 
writer.  It  is  the  office  of  the  teacher  of  reading  to  help  pupils 
to  retain  that  sensitiveness  of  imagination  that  is  characteristic 
of  youth.  Almost  every  other  subject  of  instruction  is  holding 
the  pupil  down  to  literal  meanings.  In  reading  the  imagination 
can  and  should  have  full  play. 

As  a  study  in  the  change  of  forms,  take  the  line,  "  Stonewall 
Jackson  riding  ahead.'*  In  the  origin  of  the  term  "  Stone- 
wall, ' '  some  enthusiastic  person  might  have  been  so  energized 
by  the  picture  of  that  firm  soldier  in  the  midst  of  the  wavering 
raw  recruits  of  that  first  battle,  that  he  exclaimed,  "The 
Stonewall  stayed  the  advancing  line. ' '  One  who  was  familiar 
with  the  incidents  of  that  battlefield  would  recognize  this  as  the 
effort  of  a  vivid  imagination  to  express  how  that  firmness  seem- 
ed to  the  narrator  and  while  having  first  the  mental  picture  of 
a  stone  wall,  would  find  that  it  shortly  or  almost  immediately 


TYPES  55 

dissolved  into  that  of  the  well-known  general  in  advance  of 
his  wavering  line,  to  whom  his  followers  rallied  to  stop  the 
movement  of  the  oncoming  charge.  This  would  be  sentence- 
allegory.  Had  the  speaker  recognized  in  Jackson  the  quality 
of  firmness  to  such  a  degree  that  he  was  willing  to  take  him  for 
the  moment  as  a  type  of  firmness,  to  which  all  other  instances 
of  firmness  might  well  be  compared,  he  would  have  subordi- 
nated the  same  qualities  as  seen  in  a  stone  wall  to  those 
shown  by  Jackson,  and  would  have  said,  "  Jackson  was  the 
stone  wall  of  the  line  at  that  crisis. '  *  Two  pictures  would 
then  be  in  mind,  one  declared  to  be  the  same  as  the  other, 
in  some  one  respect.    This  is  metaphor. 

If  to  the  speaker  the  idea  of  firmness  as  shown  by  a  stone 
wall,  that  cannot  move,  was  the  quality  seen  in  the  immobility 
of  Jackson,  who  was  held  in  his  place  by  a  sense  of  responsi- 
bility so  strong  that  it  took  from  him  the  power  to  rtiove,  even 
had  he  so  desired,  his  attempt  to  represent  that  subordination 
of  the  human  quality  to  that  shown  by  the  lifeless  wall  would 
take  the  form,  "There  stands  Jackson  like  a  stone  wall." 
This  is  simile. 

To  readers  who  are  familiar  enough  with  the  setting  to  recog- 
nize any  figure  in  the  term  "Stonewall  Jackson,"  it  is  a  meta- 
phor as  used  in  the  poem. 

In  considering  an  upright  man,  the  psalmist  exclaims,  "  He 
shall  be  like  a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers  of  water. ' '  Simile  is 
natural  here,  for  it  would  require  an  extreme  activity  of  imagin- 
ation to  place  a  man  in  the  genus  of  trees,  drawing  sustenance 
from  the  ground.  This  very  element  of  constant  and  abun- 
dant nourishment  is  the  quality  recognized,  but  the  tree  is  the 
better  representative  of  the  type,  so  the  human  is  subordinated 
to  it. 

When  the  hot  winds  sweep  over  the  sandy  plains,  a  tree  that 
does  not  have  its  roots  deep  in  an  unfailing  supply  of  water  soon 


$6  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

gives  evidence  of  the  drain  upon  its  vitality  by  its  withered 
leaves.  The  external  appearance  shows  the  inward  condition. 
So  a  man  that  is  stricken  by  a  blow  that  has  deprived  him  of  his 
courage,  shows  it  soon  externally.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
man  who  can  withstand  adversity,  calm  and  serene,  sustained 
by  a  spiritual  nourishment  that  gives  him  perennial  vigor,  so 
arouses  the  psalmist's  enthusiasm  that  he  accepts  him  as  his 
type  of  that  which  has  an  abundant  and  unfailing  source  of 
nourishment.  Under  the  unconscious  influence  of  the  simile 
just  in  mind,  he  boldly  projects  the  one  picture  upon  the  other, 
accepts  them  as  identical,  and  declares  in  the  same  sentence 
his  simile,  ''  His  leaf  also  shall  not  wither."  This  is  clause- 
metaphor. 

Metonymy  is  that  figure  of  speech  in  which  one  thing  is 
named  instead  of  another  of  which  the  first  is  a  type.  "  He 
kept  the  table  in  a  roar. ' '  The  table  is  the  prominent  thing 
connected  with  a  banquet.  "  He  arose  and  addressed  the 
chair."  The  "  chair"  is  the  sign  of  the  office.  "  Gray  hairs 
should  be  respected."    "  Gray  hairs,"  the  type  of  age. 

Synecdoche  is  that  figure  of  speech  in  which  one  thing  is 
named  instead  of  another  of  which  the  first  is  a  typical  part. 
"  A  hundred  sail  are  in  the  bay. ' '  The  sail  is  a  typical  part  of 
the  ship.  "  She  was  a  child  of  ten  summers. ' '  The  summer  is 
a  typical  part  of  the  year.  "  He  employed  ten  hands."  The 
hands  are  the  type  for  the  whole  men.  Notice  that  in  metony- 
my one  thing  is  named  for  another,  of  which  it  is  no  part,  but 
merely  associated  with  it.  In  synecdoche  the  one  thing  is 
really  the  part  of  the  other. 

Personification  is  that  figure  of  speech  in  which  inanimate 
things  are  given  attributes  of  life.  This  is  sometimes  done  by 
the  use  of  adjectives;  as,  the  howling  wind.  By  means  of  verbs, 
inanimate  things  are  represented  as  acting  as  if  living  beings; 
as,  the  wind  howled.    In  combination  with  Apostrophe,  the 


TYPES  57 

figure  is  used  in  direct  address;  as,  "  Come  to  the  bridal  cham- 
ber, Death  1" 

Personification  is  metaphorical  in  its  nature  in  the  above  illus- 
trations, inasmuch  as  two  identical  pictures  are  in  mind.  It 
can  be  allegorical,  when  the  mind  is  primarily  conscious  of  but 
one  picture,  which  is  that  of  some  lifeless  object  endowed  with 
life,  or  of  an  animal  having  human  attributes.  Fables  and 
stories  of  the  type  of  "Jack  Frost"  represent  allegorical 
personification. 

Apostrophe  is  the  direct  address  of  the  absent  as  if  present,  of 
the  dead  as  if  Hving,  and  of  inanimate  things  as  if  living.  It 
often  includes  personification,  and  can  be  either  metaphorical 
or  allegorical  in  its  nature. 

"  Thou  hast  taught  me,  Silent  River, 
Many  a  lesson,  deep  and  long. ' ' 

This  is  an  apostrophe  in  which  the  river  is  metaphorically 
personified. 

"  O  Death,  where  is  thy  sting  ? '  * 

This  is  an  apostrophe  in  which  death  is  personified  in  a  way 
that  might  be  allegorical  to  one  having  a  vivid  imagination. 

It  is  the  business  of  the  teacher  to  cultivate  in  the 
pupil  the  power  to  recognize  and   feel    type-qualities. 

These  exercises  are  profitable :  — 

1.  Have  the  pupils  explain  given  types. 

2.  Have  the  pupils  find  and  explain  types. 

3.  Have  the  pupils  tell  certain  things  by  means  of  types. 

4.  Have  the  pupils  classify  types  according  to  the  figures 
of  speech. 


58  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

EXERCISES 

PICK  OUT,   INTERPRET,   AND  CLASSIFY  THE  TYPES 

Silently  one  by  one,  in  the  infinite  meadows  of  heaven. 
Blossomed  the  lovely  stars,  the  forget-me-nots  of  the  angels. 

Longfellow. 

Fair  as  the  earliest  beam  of  eastern  light, 
Shine  martial  Faith,  and  Courtesy's  bright  star, 

SCOTT. 

"Dance,  Marabout, "  shouted  the  reckless  warders,  as  much  delighted 
at  having  a  subject  to  tease  as  a  child  when  he  catches  a  butterfly,  or  a 
school-boy  upon  discovering  a  bird's  nest.  The  Marabout,  as  if  happy 
to  do  their  behests,  bounded  from  the  earth,  and  spun  his  giddy  round 
before  them  with  singular  agility,  which  when  contrasted  with  his  slight 
and  wasted  figure  and  diminutive  appearance,  made  him  resemble  a 
withered  leaf  twirled  round  and  around  at  the  pleasure  of  the  winter's 
breeze. 

Then  the  whinning  school-boy,  with  his  satchel  and  shining  morning 
face,  creeping  like  snail  unwillingly  to  school.  And  then  the  lover,  sighing 
like  furnace,  with  woeful  ballad  made  to  his  mistress'  eyebrows. 

Shakespeare. 

Once  as  I  told  in  glee 

Tales  of  the  stormy  sea. 

Soft  eyes  did  gaze  on  me, 

Burning,  yet  tender; 

And  as  the  white  stars  shine 

On  the  dark  Norway  pine, 

On  that  dark  heart  of  mine 

Tell  their  soft  splendor. 

As  with  his  wings  aslant, 

Sails  the  fierce  cormorant, 

Seeking  some  rocky  haunt, 

With  his  prey  laden. 

So  toward  the  open  main, 

Beating  to  sea  again. 

Through  the  wild  hurricane. 

Bore  I  the  maiden.  •       Longfellow. 

Thou,  too,  sail  on,  O  Ship  of  State  I 
Sail  on,  O  Union,  strong  and  great! 

Longfellow. 


TYPES  59 


"Hence  is  the  inner  life  of  so  many  suffering  women 

Sunless  and  silent  and  deep,  like  subterranean  rivers 

Running    through  caverns  of   darkness,   with    endless   and   profitless 

murmurs." 
Thereupon  answered  John  Alden,  the  young  man,  the  lover  of  women: 
"  Heaven  forbid  it,  Priscilla;  and  truly  they  seem  to  me  always 
More  like  the  beautiful  rivers  that  watered  the  garden  of  Eden, 
More  like  the  river  Euphrates,  through  deserts  of  Havilah  flowing. 
Filling  the  land  with  delight,  and  memories  sweet  of  the  garden!" 

Longfellow. 

Then  her  tears 
Broke  forth  a  flood,  as  when  the  August  cloud, 
Darkening  beside  the  mountain,  suddenly 
Melts  into  streams  of  rain. 

Bryant. 

So,  on  the  bloody  sand,  Sohrab  lay  dead; 

And  the  great  Rustum  drew  his  horseman's  cloak 

Down  o'er  his  face,  and  sate  by  his  dead  son. 

As  those  black  granite  pillars,  once  high-rear'd 

By  Jemshid  in  Persepolis,  to  bear 

His  house,  now  'mid  their  broken  flights  of  steps 

Lie  prone,  enormous,  down  the  mountain  side — 

So  in  the  sand  lay  Rustum  by  his  son. 

Matthew  Arnold. 

By  and  by 
The  ruddy  square  of  comfortable  light. 
Far-blazing  from  the  rear  of  Philip's  house. 
Allured  him,  as  the  beacon  blaze  allures 
The  bird  of  passage,  till  he  madly  strikes 
Against  it,  and  beats  out  his  weary  life. 

Tennyson. 

In  conclusion,  let  us  notice  one  of  the  finest  poems  in  litera- 
ture, one  built  around  a  type.  A  beautiful  thought  came  to  the 
poet.  He  wished  to  give  it  to  the  world.  He  wished  to  give  it 
in  such  a  way  that  it  would  enter  men's  souls.  He  sought  for  a 
type.  He  found  it  in  a  little  broken  sea -shell  cast  at  his  feet  by 
the  waves.    The  tenant  of  the  shell  had  built  around  himself 


6o  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

his  first  small  abode.  Then  he  had  added  a  larger  room  to  his 
home,  moved  into  it,  and  walled  up  the  old  room,  now  too  small 
for  his  use.  So  the  Nautilus,  for  that  is  the  name  of  the  little 
being,  built  its  spiral  shell  in  gradually  increasing  cham- 
bers until  the  end  of  its  little  Hfe  came,  and  it  left  its  empty 
shell,  its  last  abode  unwalled  and  open. 

The  poet  devotes  three  stanzas  to  a  description  of  his  type; 
one  stanza,  the  fourth,  to  the  introduction  of  the  truth  of  which 
the  chambered  Nautilus  is  a  type;  and  one  stanza,  the  last,  to 
the  thought  itself. 

THE  CHAMBERED  NAUTILUS 

OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES 

This  is  the  ship  of  pearl,  which,  poets  feign, 
Sails  the  unshadowed  main, — 
The  venturous  bark  that  flings 
On  the  sweet  summer  wind  its  purpled  wings 
In  gulfs  enchanted,  where  the  siren  sings. 
And  coral  reefs  lie  bare, 
Where  the  cold  sea-maids  rise  to  sun  their  streaming  hair? 

Its  webs  of  living  gauze  no  more  unfurl; 
Wrecked  is  the  ship  of  pearl! 
And  every  chambered  cell, 
Where  its  dim  dreaming  life  was  wont  to  dwell, 
As  the  frail  tenant  shaped  his  growing  shell, 
Before  thee  lies  revealed, — 
Its  irised  ceiUng  rent,  its  sunless  crypt  unsealed! 

Year  after  year  beheld  the  silent  toil 

That  spread  his  lustrous  coil; 
Still,  as  the  spiral  grew. 
He  left  the  past  year's  dwelling  for  the  new 
Stole  with  soft  step  its  shining  archway  through, 
Built  up  its  idle  door. 
Stretched  in  his  last-found  home,  and  knew  the  old  no  more. 

Thanks  for  the  heavenly  message  brought  by  thee, 
Child  of  the  wandering  sea, 


TYPES  6 1 

Cast  from  her  lap,  forlorn! 
From  thy  dead  hps  a  clearer  note  is  born 
Than  ever  Triton  blew  from  wreathed  horn! 
While  on  my  ear  it  rings, 
Through  the  deep  caves  of  thought  I  hear  a  voice  that  sings: — 

Build  thee  more  stately  mansions,  O  my  soul, 
As  the  swift  seasons  roll! 
Leave  thy  low-vaulted  past! 
Let  each  new  temple,  nobler  than  the  last, 
Shut  thee  from  heaven  with  a  dome  more  vast, 
Till  thou  at  length  art  free. 
Leaving  thine  outgrown  shell  by  life's  unresting  sea! 


OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  VI 
TYPES 
Function  of  types. 
Examples. 
Figures  of  speech. 

Metaphor. 

Simile. 

Allegory. 

Meton)Tny. 

Synecdoche. 

Personification. 

Apostrophe. 
Exercises. 

"The  Chambered  Nautilus." 

FOR  REVIEW  AND  SUGGESTION 

1.  What  is  a  type?    Why  do  authors  use  types ? 

2.  What  is  a  type  of  purity ?     Of  humility?     Of  vanity? 

3.  Of  what  is  the  fox  a  type ?    The  goose?    An  oak?     A  reed? 

4.  What  is  a  metaphor  ?     How  is  it  based  on  types  ? 

5.  How  does  simile  differ  from  metaphor? 

6.  What  is  an  allegory  ?    Name  some  famous  allegories- 

7.  Is  an  allegory  necessarily  long ?     How  long? 

8.  What  figure  in  the  parable  of  the  Sower  ? 


62  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

9.  What  is  the  purpose  of  a  parable? 

10.  What  figure  in  the  fable  of  the  Fox  and  the  Grapes  ? 

11.  What  is  the  purpose  of  a  fable ? 

12.  In  what  respect  are  parables  and  fables  similar?    How  do  they 
differ? 

13.  What  duty  has  the  teacher  toward  the  pupils  in  regard  to  figures? 

14.  When  should  classification  of  figures  be  taught? 

15.  Explain  metonymy.     Synecdoche. 

16.  What  is  personification?     Give  an  allegorical  personification. 

17.  What  is  apostrophe?     Give  an  example  of  apostrophe  not  in- 
cluding personification. 

18.  Give  an  example  of  apostrophe  metaphorically  personified. 

19.  Explain  the  figures  in  "  The  Chambered  Nautilus." 


CHAPTER  VII 
EFFECTS 

He  strode  to  Gauthier,  in  his  throat 
Gave  him  the  lie,  then  struck  his  mouth 
With  one  back-handed  blow  that  wrote 
In  blood  men's  verdict  there.     North,  South, 
East,  West,  I  looked.     The  he  was  dead 
And  damned,  and  truth  stood  up  instead. 

The  lines  are  from  Robert  Browning's  "  Count  Gismond.*' 
The  Countess  Gismond  is  telling  a  friend  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  she  first  met  her  husband,  and  of  the  events  that 
led  to  their  union.  She  has  told  how  at  a  time  when  she,  as 
queen  of  a  tournament,  was  at  the  climax  of  pride  and  happi- 
ness, Count  Gauthier  had  suddenly  and  publicly  accused  her  of 
a  shameful  crime.  Stunned  by  the  horror  of  the  accusation, 
she  was  speechless,  until  Count  Gismond  "  Strode  to  Gauthier," 
etc. 

Let  us  see  how  much  the  author  has  told  us  in  the  well-chosen 
words  of  the  brief  scene.  '*  Strode ' '  tells  us  of  the  fearlessness 
and  indignation  of  Gismond.  Gauthier  had  "  stalked  forth. " 
*'  In  his  throat, ' '  no  beating  about  the  bush,  no  polite  introduc- 
tion of  the  subject,  but  words  clear  and  strong.  "  Struck  his 
mouth,"  shows  the  degree  of  Gismond 's  anger.  "  With 
one  back-handed  blow,"  Gismond  thoroughly  despised  this 
dastard,  but  even  this  sentiment  was  energetic,  for  his  blow 
"  wrote  in  blood."  "  North,  South,  East,  West,  I  looked," 
the  heroine,  though  innocent,  had  been  beaten  down  by  the 
mere  accusation;  now  she  feels  herself  cleared. 

So  we  find  something  of  the  story,  and  very  much  of  the  char- 
acters and  moods  of  the  actors,  told  us  in  few  words.    Let  us 

63 


64  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

see  how  this  is  accompHshed.  Gismond  was  fearless  in  charac- 
ter and  indignant  in  mood.  A  result  of  this  character  and  this 
mood  was  the  particular  way  in  which  he  walked.  The  same 
character  and  mood  caused  Gismond  to  give  the  lie  to  Gauth- 
ier  "in  his  throat."  The  fact  that  Gismond  despised  and 
scorned  Gauthier,  had  for  its  effect  the  *'  back-handed  blow." 
The  energy  of  the  blow  is  shown  by  its  effect,  the  drawing  of 
blood.  The  regained  assurance  of  the  woman  is  shown  in  its 
effect  in  her  looking  "  North,  South,  East,  West. ' '  In  fact  all 
that  we  know  of  the  characters  and  moods  of  these  persons  is 
told  us  by  the  effects  caused  by  the  characters  and  moods. 
The  supreme  source  of  strength  in  literature  is  the  abil- 
ity to  produce  the  greatest  result  by  the  fewest  means. 
Authors  do  this  by  telling  effects  and  allowing  the  im- 
agination and  reason  of  the  reader  to  construct  the  causes. 
The  reader  by  the  process  of  inference  secures  a  much 
stronger  idea  than  he  could  obtain  from  simple  descriptive 
words.  For  example,  Maclaren  wishes  to  make  vivid  the  ob- 
stinacy of  the  Scotch,  and  he  says:  "  And  they  stood  longest 
in  the  kirk  yard  when  the  north  wind  blew  across  a  hundred 
miles  of  snow. ' '  Again  he  wishes  to  show  how  great  was  the 
grief  of  the  old  doctor  when  he  could  not  save  the  life  of  Annie, 
the  wife  of  Tammas,  and  he  says  merely  this,  "a'  saw  the  Doc- 
tor shake  in  his  saddle. "  The  doctor  finally  saves  the  life  of 
Saunders  after  a  terrible  combat  with  the  fever.  The  author 
wishes  to  tell  us  how  the  old  doctor  felt  over  the  victory.  Does 
he  use  the  words  happy  and  joyful  ?  Not  he.  He  tells  us  how 
Drumsheugh  followed  the  old  man,  crippled  by  accident  and 
stiffened  by  exposure,  as  he  went  out  into  the  fields  after  the 
great  exertions  of  the  night.  Then  the  author  tells  us  how  the 
old  doctor  flung  his  coat  west  and  his  waist-coat  east,  as  far  as 
he  could  hurl  them,  how  he  struck  Drumsheugh  a  mighty  blow, 
and  began  to  fling  his  limbs  about  in  strange  and  weird  contor- 


EFFECTS  65 

tions.  "  Then  it  dawns  upon  Drumsheugh  that  the  doctor  was 
attempting  the  Highland  fling. ' '  From  the  physical  effect  of 
the  doctor's  joy,  we  know  how  great  it  must  have  been. 

Effects  may  be  classified  into  effects  of  incident,  effects 
of  character,  and  effects  of  mood.  Effects  of  incident  are 
those  from  which  the  reader  or  hearer  infers  something  which 
has  happened  or  is  happening  or  may  happen,  or  some  state  or 
condition.  Suppose  that  we  are  given  this  effect :  "  Two  boys 
with  blackened  eyes  and  swollen  noses  slunk  through  the  door 
and  into  their  seats. ' '  We  infer  that  there  has  been  a  personal 
encounter  between  the  two  young  Americans.  This  is  an  effect 
of  incident. 

Effects  of  character  are  those  from  which  we  infer  some- 
thing concerning  some  person's  character.  This  striking 
illustration  appeared  in  an  article  in  the  Northwestern  Monthly. 
"  A  minister  shaved  the  hair  above  his  forehead  in  such  a  way 
that  his  brow  appeared  higher."  What  was  the  character  of 
the   minister? 

We  find  this  bit  of  characterization  in  the  "  Bonnie  Brier 
Bush."  "  He  lifted  up  the  soiled  rose  and  put  it  in  his  coat; 
he  released  a  butterfly  caught  in  some  mesh;  he  buried  his  face 
in  fragrant  honeysuckle. ' ' 

Effects  of  mood  are  those  from  which  we  infer  something 
concerning  the  mental  state  of  some  person.  We  find  a 
fine  example  in  "  Enoch  Arden. ' '  Philip  and  Enoch  both  love 
Annie.  Philip  by  chance  comes  upon  Enoch  and  Annie  just 
after  they  have  declared  their  love.  The  grief  of  Philip  is 
shown  by  a  powerful  effect: 

Philip  looked; 
Then  as  their  faces  grew  together,  groaned, 
.     And  sljpt  aside,  and  like  a  wounded  life, 
Crept  down  into  the  hollows  of  the  wood. 

It  is  by  an  effect  that  the  actor  in  "  Shore  Acres  "  repre 


66  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

senting  the  old  farmer,  shows  the  dislike  and  irritability  of  the 
old  man  towards  his  daughter's  worthless  suitor.  The  old  man 
is  represented  sitting  on  a  box  in  his  barnyard.  He  is 
whittling.  The  shavings  drop  ofiE  slowly  and  methodically  as 
the  old  man  whistles  softly  to  himself.  The  young  man 
approaches.  The  farmer  does  not  appear  to  see  him,  no  words 
are  spoken,  but  the  whistle  ceases,  and  the  shavings  drop 
faster  and  faster  until  they  fairly  fly  from  the  knife.  What  is 
the  mood  of  the  old  farmer  ? 

Effects  can  be  classified  as  effects  of  kind  and  effects  of 
degree.  The  purpose  of  an  effect  of  kind  is  to  show  what 
is  the  particular  incident,  mood,  or  trait  of  character.  The  lit- 
erature of  child-life,  especially  for  the  earlier  years,  will  be  con- 
cerned more  with  this  form.  More  advanced  grades  of  litera- 
ture will  not  be  satisfied  with  ideas  of  kind,  but  will  be 
concerned  in  showing  how  great  was  the  intensity  of  the  idea 
involved.  King  Midas  had  been  told  that  the  golden  touch 
would  leave  him  if  he  bathed  in  the  river  at  sunrise.  He  started 
at  once  for  the  river,  though  it  was  many  hours  before  sunrise. 
We  infer  not  only  that  he  wished  to  be  released  from  this  once 
desired  power,  but  also  how  anxious  he  was  for  the  change. 
When  he  runs  with  the  pitcher  to  sprinkle  water  on  the  form  of 
Mary,  we  infer  not  only  his  love,  but  what  is  more  important, 
how  great  is  that  love.  The  spectacle  of  a  king,  accustomed  to 
having  every  want  attended  by  others,  now  running  at  utmost 
speed  to  relieve  his  daughter  from  her  unfortunate  condition, 
enables  us  to  measure  the  degree  of  his  feeling.  The  incident 
of  the  dog  that  tried  to  call  his  master's  attention  to  the  loss  of 
his  purse,  and  that  crawled  back  to  die  beside  it,  after  being  shot 
by  his  master  under  the  belief  that  he  had  gone  mad,  is  told  not 
so  much  to  show  that  the  dog  was  faithful,  bulf  because  of  ad- 
miration arising  from  the  degree  of  faithfulness. 

Effects  of  degree  can  be  used  to  include  the  effect  of  kind,  or 


EFFECTS  67 

»      -  - 

they  can  be  given  to  increase  the  strength  of  an  idea  already 
given.  '*  For  a  long  time  Mary  looked  longingly  at  the  pies 
and  cakes  in  the  baker's  window. ' '  This  is  an  effect  of  kind. 
From  it  we  infer  that  Mary  was  hungry.  "  When  the  baker 
held  out  the  bun  toward  her,  her  claw-like  fingers  snatched 
it.  In  two  bites,  it  was  gone. '  *  This  effect  tells  us  nothing 
more  about  Mary's  peculiar  condition.  It  gives  us  an  idea  of 
the  degree  of  her  hunger,  and  is  an  effect  of  degree. 

All  effects  of  degree  are  effects  of  kind,  but  the  purpose  of  the 
effect  is  different.  It  is  not  a  valuable  exercise  in  elementary 
schools  to  have  pupils  classify  effects  into  formal  lists  of  kind 
and  degree,  but  it  is  most  helpful  to  have  them  conscious  of  the 
purpose  of  degree  effects  as  they  occur  in  a  passage  for  the  aid 
it  gives  in  interpreting  the  meaning.  It  gives  the  author's  point 
of  view. 

It  is  the  business  of  the  teacher  to  train  the  pupil  to  de- 
tect effects  and  feel  their  power.  No  new  power  need  be 
sought.  A  fair  degree  of  reason  is  all  that  is  needed. 
Children  select  their  friends  by  inferring  causes  from  effects. 
The  employer  selects  his  employee  thus.  Even  a  dog  judges 
the  sentiments  of  a  person  toward  dogs,  from  effects.  We  all 
judge  mood  from  the  curve  of  the  lip,  the  flush  of  the  face,  the 
wrinkling  of  the  brow. 

These  exercises  are  valuable:  — 

1.  Have  the  pupils  draw  inferences  from  given  effects. 

2.  Have  pupils  find  and  interpret  effects  of  a  specified  kind. 

3.  Have  pupils  tell  certain  things  by  effects. 

4.  Have  pupils  classify  effects  into  effects  of  incident, 
mood  and  character. 

In  all  this  work,  the  teacher  should  keep  the  direction  of  the 
work  under  her  control,  and  see  that  the  emphasis  is  given  to 
the  noble  and  the  beautiful.  If  undirected,  it  is  liable  to  degen- 
erate into  unkindness  and  caricature. 


68  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

The  following  is  given  as  a  further  illustration  of  effects  and 
the  method  of  work.     It  is  intended  for  the  use  of  the  teacher. 
The  use  oj  dialect  selections  with  pupils  is  not  to  he  advised. 

THE  CORTIN' 

James  Russell  Lowell. 
God  makes  sech  nights,  all  white  an'  still 

Fur'z  you.  can  look  or  listen, 
Moonshine  an'  snow  on  field  an'  hill 

All  silence  an'  all  gUsten. 

What  was  the  season  ? 

What  was  the  place?     (Effects  of  incident.) 

Zekle  crep'  up  quite  unbeknown 

An'  peeked  in  thru'  the  winder, 
An'  there  sot  Huldy  all  alone, 

'Ith  no  one  nigh  to  hender. 

Who  was  Zekle  ?  (Effect  of  incident.)  How  did  he  feel  ? 
(Effect  of  mood.)  Does  Huldy 's  being  alone  tell  you  any- 
thing about  the  thoughtfulness  of  Huldy's  family  ?  (Effects  of 
character.) 

A  fireplace  filled  the  room's  one  side. 

With  half  a  cord  o'  wood  in — 
There  warn't  no  stoves  (tell  comfort  died) 

To  bake  ye  to  a  puddin' . 
The  wa'nut  logs  shot  sparkles  out 

Toward  the  pootiest,  bless  her, 
An'  leetle  flames  danced  all  about 

The  chiny  on  the  dresser. 
Agin  the  chimbley  crook-necks  hung 

An'  in  amongst  'em  rusted 
The  old  queen's-arm  thet  gran'ther  Young 

Fetched  back  from  Concord,  busted. 

What  adjectives  would  you  use  in  describing  this  home? 
What  kind  of  people  lived  there?  (Effect  of  character.) 
What  part  of  the  country  was  this  ? 


EFFECTS  69 


The  very  room,  coz  she  was  in, 
Seemed  warm  from  floor  to  ceilin' 

And  she  looked  full  ez  rosy  agin 
Ez  the  apples  she  was  peelin'. 


What  kind  of  a  girl  was  she  ?    Does  the  following  stanza  do 
anything  more  than  confirm  your  idea  ? 

'Twas  kin'  o'  kingdom  come  to  look 

On  sich  a  blessed  cretur, 
A  dog-rose  blushin'  to  a  brook 

Ain't  modester  nor  sweeter. 

He  was  six  foot  o'  man,  A-i, 

Clear  grit  an  human  natur'; 
None  couldn't  quicker  pitch  a  ton 

Nor  dror  a  furrer  straighter. 

What  do  the  last  two  lines  tell  you  about  Zekle  ?    What  do 
the  next  four  tell  you  ? 

He'd  sparked  it  with  full  twenty  gals, 
He'd  squired  'em,  danced  'em,  druv  'em, 

First  this  one,  an'  then  thet,  by  spells — 
All  is,  he  couldn't  love  'em. 

But  long  o'  her  his  veins  'ould  run 

All  crinkly  Hke  curled  maple; 
The  side  she  breshed  felt  full  o'  sun 

Ez  a  south  slope  in  Ap'il. 

What  was  the  trouble  with  Zekle  ?    What  kind  of  an  effect  ? 

She  thought  no  v'ice  hed  sech  a  swing 

Ez  hisn  in  the  choir; 
My!   when  he  made  Ole  Hundred  ring, 

She  knowed  the  Lord  was  nigher. 

An'  she'd  blush  scarlit,  right  in  prayer, 

When  her  new  meetin'-bunnet 
Felt  somehow  thru'  its  crown  a  pair 

O'  blue  eyes  sot  upun  it. 


70  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

What  was  the  trouble  with  Huldy  ?    What  e£Eects  ? 

Thet  night,  I  tell  ye,  she  looked  some! 

She  seemed  to've  gut  a  new  soul. 
For  she  felt  sartin  sure  he'd  come, 

Down  to  her  very  shoe  sole. 

What  effects  in  these  Hnes: 

She  heered  a  foot,  and  knowed  it  tu, 

A-raspin'  on  the  scraper 
All  ways  to  once  her  feelin's  flew 

Like  sparks  in  burnt-up  paper. 

He  kin'  o'  litered  on  the  mat 

Some  doubtfle  o'  the  sekle, 
His  heart  kep'  goin'  pity-pat, 

But  hern  went  pity  Zekle. 

What  effects  here?    What  kind  of  effects? 

An'  yit  she  gin  her  cheer  a  jerk 

Ez  though  she  wished  him  furder, 
An'  on  her  apples  kep'  to  work 

Parin'  away  like  murder. 

Why  did  she  act  so ?    Was  it  an  effect  of  character?    What 
is  Lowell's  explanation?    See  four  lines  below. 

"You  want  to  see  my  pa,  I  s'pose?" 

"Wal — no — I  come  dasignin'  " — 
"To  see  my  ma?     She's  sprinkUn'  clothes 

Agin  tomorrer's  inin'." 

To  say  why  gals  act  so  or  so. 

Or  don't,  'ould  be  presumin*; 
Mebby  to  mean  YES  an'  say  NO 

Comes  nateral  to  women. 

He  stood  a  spell  on  one  foot  fust. 

Then  stood  a  spell  on  t'other. 
An*  on  which  one  he  felt  the  wust 

He  couldn't  ha'  told  ye  nuther. 


EFFECTS 


71 


What  effects  of  mood  ? 


Says  he,  "I'd  better  call  agin;" 

Says  she,  "Think  likely,  Mister;" 
Thet  last  word  pricked  him  like  a  pin, 

An' —  wal,  he  up  an'  kist  her. 

Does  the  last  line  throw  any  more  light  on  Zekle's  nature? 

When  ma  bimeby  upon  'em  slips, 

Huldy  sot  pale  ez  ashes, 
All  kin'  o'  smily  round  the  lips 

An*  teary  round  the  lashes. 

What  kind  of  a  mother  had  Huldy  ?  Notice  *' bimeby ' '  and 
remember  that  "  There  sot  Huldy  all  alone.'*  What  kind  of 
a  nature  had  Huldy  ?  Are  the  following  lines  necessary  ?  Do 
they  not  merely  confirm  the  inference  gained  by  these  effects  ? 

For  she  was  jes'  the  quiet  kind 

Whose  naturs  never  vary. 
Like  streams  that  keep  a  summer  mind 

Snow-hid  in  Jenooary. 

The  blood  clost  roun'  her  heart  felt  glued 

Too  tight  for  all  expressin'; 
Tell  mother  see  how  metters  stood, 

An'  gin  'em  both  her  blessin*. 

Then  her  red  come  back  like  the  tide 

Down  to  the  Bay  o'  Fundy, 
An'  all  I  know  is  they  was  cried 

In  meetin'  come  nex'  Sunday. 

The  crying  of  the  banns  is  an  effect  of  incident.  What  do 
you  infer  from  it? 

For  further  practice  interpret  and  classify  the  effects  in  the 
following:  — 


72  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 


EXERCISES 

Suddenly  Ichabod  heard  a  groan, — his  teeth  chattered,  and  his  knees 
smote  against  the  saddle :  it  was  but  the  rubbing  of  one  huge  bough 
upon  another,  as  they  were  swayed  about  by  the  breeze. 

Irving. 

He  only  meant  to  walk  up  and  down  her  street,  so  that  she  might 
see  him  from  the  window,  and  know  that  this  splendid  thing  was  he. 

Barrie. 
She  answered  not  with  railing  words, 
But  drew  her  apron  o'er  her  face, 
And  sobbing  glided  from  the  place. 

Whittier, 

He  had  the  keenest  eyes  in  Clanruadh  and  was  a  dead  shot.  Yet 
he  never  stalked  a  deer,  never  killed  anything  for  mere  sport. 

MacDonald. 
There  is  an  old  poor  man. 
Who  after  me  hath  many  a  weary  step 
Limped  in  pure  love:  till  he  be  first  sufficed, 
Oppressed  with  two  weak  evils,  age  and  hunger, 
I  will  not  touch  a  bit. 

Shakespeare. 

A  yellow  claw — ^the  very  same  that   had   clawed  together  so  much 

wealth — poked  itself  out  of  the  coach-window,  and  dropt  some  copper 

coins  upon  the  ground. 

Hawthorne. 

As  the  life  boat  returned  from  the  wreck,  the  men  on  shore  shouted 
themselves  hoarse,  the  women  laughed  and  cried. 

Anon. 

The  old  man  read  the  notice,  pulled  down  his  hat  over  his  eyes,  drew 
his  cloak  closely  up  under  his  chin,  and  went  quickly  down  the  dune. 

Hugo. 

Some  of  the  men  began  to  lag  behind,  dragging  their  guns  and  limp- 
ing with  bleeding  feet.     Other  men  with  bloody  bandages  about  their 

heads  could  be  seen  in  the  hurrying  wagons. 

Anon. 

The  two  young  Cratchits  crammed  spoons  into  their  mouths  lest  they 
should  shriek  for  goose  before  their  turn  came  to  be  helped. 

Dickens. 


EFFECTS  73 

He  parted  in  twain  his  single  crust, 

He  broke  the  ice  on  the  streamlet's  brink, 

And  gave  the  leper  to  eat  and  drink. 

Lowell. 

He  placed  the  guns  together  with  a  good  supply  of  ammunition, 
under  the  loop-holes  by  which  the  enemy  must  advance. 

Anon. 

OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  VII 

EFFECTS 
Function  of  effects. 

Examples. 
Classification  of  effects. 

Incident. 

Character. 

Mood. 

Kind. 

Degree. 
The  duty  of  the  teacher. 
Exercises. 

FOR  REVIEW  AND  SUGGESTION 

T .  What  is  the  supreme  source  of  stiength  in  literature ? 

2 .  What  are  effects  ? 

3.  Why  is  the  name  appropriate  ?  t 

4.  How  may  effects  be  classified  ? 

5 .  How  early  in  the  grades  is  effect  work  profitable  ? 

6.  How  does  an  effect  of  degree  differ  from  an  effect  of  kind  ? 

7.  Of  what  value  is  the  classifying  of  effects  as  a  school  exercise? 

8.  What  is  the  duty  of  the  teacher  in  regard  to  effects? 

9.  How  can  a  teacher  tell  when  her  duty  is  accomplished? 

10.  How  does  effect  work  influence  the  child's  liking  for  Hterature? 

1 1 .  Give  some  exercises  in  effects  ? 

12.  Discuss  the  frequency  of  inferring  effects  in  every  day  life. 

13.  What  kind  of  effects  should  not  be  studied? 

14.  What  authors  are  especially  skillful  in  using  effects? 

15.  Can  the  use  of  effects  be  overdone? 


PART  III 
METHODS 


CHAPTER  VIII 

PRIMARY  READING 

Before  discussing  the  method  of  teaching  primary  reading 
most  effective  for  the  average  teacher,  in  the  average  school  with 
the  average  equipment,  it  would  be  well  to  notice  the  principles 
on  which  the  most  common  methods  of  teaching  are  based. 

The  Alphabet  Method  is  the  oldest.  It  is  the  one  naturally 
adopted  by  the  untrained  teacher.  It  rests  upon  the  assump- 
tion that  the  unit  of  teaching  reading  should  be  the  letter, 
that  the  progress  should  be  from  the  part  to  the  whole,  that 
the  operation  of  learning  should  be  synthetic,  the  putting  to- 
gether of  letters  to  form  words.  According  to  this  method  the 
alphabet  is  taught  first,  then  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  are  put 
together  to  form  words.  Under  the  older  form  the  letters  were 
put  together  to  form  anything  that  might  happen  to  result.  We 
find  the  first  page  of  the  old  New  England  Primer,  a  primer 
built  on  the  alphabet  method,  to  have  this  literature  for  the  chil- 
dren's  first  reading  lesson: 

ab  eb  ib  ob  ub 

ac  ec  ic  oc  uc 

ad  ed  id  od  ud 

af  ef  if  of  uf 


ag 

eg 

ig 

og 

ug 

al 

el 

il 

ol 

ul 

am 

em 

im 

om 

um 

an 

en 

in 

on 

un 

ap 

ep 

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op 

up 

ar 

er 

ir 

or 

ur 

as 

es 

is 

OS 

US 

77 


78  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

The  alphabet  method  has  proved  less  effective  than  other 
methods  for  a  number  of  reasons.  The  letter  is  not  the  most 
convenient  unit  for  teaching  on  account  of  the  number  of 
sounds  in  our  languag?.  indicated  by  the  same  letter.  This 
method  does  not  make  a  direct  connection  between  the  word 
and  the  thing  that  the  word  means.  This  results  in  reading 
that  is  not  thoughtful.  Hugh  Miller  has  given  evidence  of 
the  fact  that  a  child  may  learn  to  read,  if  such  a  process  c^n  be 
called  reading,  by  this  method,  without  finding  that  reading  is 
merely  "  the  art  of  finding  stories  in  books. ' ' 

The  Phonic  Methods.  In  the  so-called  phonic  methods  the 
unit  adopted  is  not  the  letter,  but  the  sound.  This  method  also 
works  from  the  part,  the  sound,  to  the  whole,  the  word.  It  is 
synthetic  in  that  it  builds  words  out  of  sounds.  Very  many  of 
the  devices  of  the  followers  of  this  method  prove  of  great  value 
to  primary  teachers.  One  of  these  is  the  linking  of  the  sounds 
of  the  letters  to  common  sounds.  Thus  we  may  say  that  S,  is  the 
sound  that  the  lamb  makes,  p  is  the  steamboat  sound,  f  is  the 
sound  that  the  kittie  makes;  v  is  the  sound  of  the  June  bug; 
w  is  the  sound  of  the  wind;  h  is  the  breath;  d,  the  young 
pigeons;  z,  the  bees;  r,  the  dog's  growl;  th,  the  goose;  th,  the 
woolen  mill;  t,  the  watch;  ch,  the  locomotive;  5t,  the  little 
pigs;  and  oo,  the  rooster.  K  is  the  fish-bone  sound;  sh  is  the 
sound  that  means  hush;  6  means  "Be  careful; "  li  is  a  hiccough; 
ow  means  a  hurt;  ugh  is  the  sound  you  make  when  you  see  a 
worm.  Some  of  the  similarities  are  rather  slight,  but  the  de- 
vice is  useful  nevertheless. 

Another  device  to  assist  in  remembering  sounds  is  to  make 
use  of  the  names  of  pupils  in  the  class.  For  instance,  B  is 
Bertha's  sound,  D  is  Dan's,  F  is  Frank's,  etc.  The  grouping  of 
words  according  to  combinations  of  sounds  is  also  of  much 
value.  For  instance :  back,  lack,  smack,  sack,  rack,  Jack,  all 
belong  to  the  "  ack  ' '  family;  hand,  land,  sand,  grand,  belong  to 


PRIMARY  READING  79 

the  "and  "  family;  while  thank,  frank,  blank,  and  crank 
belong  to  the  ''  ank  "  family. 

The  presence  of  mechanical  reading  instead  of  thoughtful 
reading  on  the  part  of  pupils  taught  by  a  purely  phonic  method 
is  caused  by  the  fact  that  this  method  sets  up  the  sound  between 
the  word  and  the  thing  that  the  word  represents.  In  a  strictly 
phonic  method  the  sound  is  taught  first  and  the  pupils  learn 
words  as  made  up  of  sounds.  This  seemingly  trivial  thing  is 
fraught  with  serious  consequences  in  the  child's  future  work. 
In  its  proper  place,  phonic  work  becomes  the  back  bone  of  pri- 
mary reading. 

The  Word  Method  is  based  upon  the  assumption  that  the 
word  is  the  proper  unit  in  teaching  primary  reading.  Words 
are  presented  and  connected  directly  with  the  objects 
which  they  represent.  In  this  respect  the  method  is  entirely  cor- 
rect. However,  the  word  method  may  be  pursued  too  far  in 
that  more  words  and  more  words  and  more  words  may  be  pre- 
sented, until  after  a  long  time  phonic  work  is  commenced. 
The  word  method  is  essentially  an  analytic  one.  The  words 
are  analyzed  into  sounds  or  letters.  This  method  contemplates 
the  use  of  words  in  sentences  from  the  very  first.  The  founda- 
tion principles  of  this  method  are  right;  but  it  is  very  easy  when 
using  it  to  neglect  some  of  the  important  things  emphasized  by 
other  methods. 

The  Sentence  Method  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  the 
proper  unit  is  not  the  letter,  nor  the  sound,  nor  the  word,  but  the 
sentence.  It  is  argued  that  all  speech  is  in  sentences,  that  even 
single  words  when  spoken  alone  are  sentences.  For  instance, 
the  word  "  Drink  "  when  spoken  by  a  thirsty  child,  is  really  a 
sentence.  Without  entering  into  this  dispute,  it  may  be  said 
that  both  the  word  and  the  sentence  methods  require  the  use  of 
the  sentence  from  the  first,  and  that  the  word  is  the  most  effect- 
ive unit  for  teaching,  whether  or  not  it  may  be  the  unit  of  language. 


8o  ESSENTIALS   OF    READING 

An  Eclectic  Method.  The  method  of  teaching  primary 
reading  that  seems  most  successful  in  the  hands  of  the  average 
teacher  is  an  eclectic  one. 

It  is  based  upon  the  following  principles : 

1.  The  most  convenient  unit  in  teaching  primary  reading  is 
the  word. 

2.  Words  should  be  grouped  into  related  sentences  as  soon 
as  possible. 

3.  The  connection  between  words  and  the  things  they 
mean  should  be  immediate. 

4.  The  sounds,  the  sound  symbols,  the  analysis  of  words 
into  sounds,  and  the  synthesis  of  sounds  into  words,  should  be 
taught  as  soon  as  possible  without  interfering  in  the  immediate 
connection  of  words  and  the  things  that  the  words  mean. 

5.  There  should  be  a  large  use  of  the  child's  love  of  action. 
Most   children   enter   school   with   a   comparatively   large 

vocabulary.  They  are  familiar  with  all  the  words  in  common 
use  in  the  homes  from  which  they  have  come  and  with  those 
used  among  their  friends  and  playmates  outside.  The  problem 
of  the  teacher  is  to  help  the  pupils,  (i)  to  recognize  through 
sight,  words  already  familiar  through  sound;  (2)  to  use  the 
words  so  recognized  as  the  means  of  receiving  thoughts  with  the 
same  ability  already  existing  through  speech;  (3)  to  give  these 
thoughts  to  others  when  desiring  so  to  do;  (4)  to  enlarge  their 
vocabulary;  and  (5)  to  enrich  the  meaning  of  words,  old  and 
new,  through  association.  While  the  approach  is  through 
words,  yet  words  have  no  use  in  language  except  as  elements  in 
thoughts  and  emotions,  and  reading  must  not  be  allowed  to  de- 
generate into  mere  recognition  of  words. 

Desire  to  read.  The  teacher  must  first  of  all  kindle  in 
the  child  a  desire  to  read.  The  task  is  an  easy  one.  It  may  be 
done  by  reading  half  of  an  interesting  story,  breaking  off  in  the 
middle  of  it,  and  then  asking  the  little  ones,  "  Wouldn't  you 


PRIMARY  READING  8i 

like  to  be  able  to  read  the  remainder  of  it  yourselves  ? ' '  The 
teacher  may  show  the  pupils  a  book  with  interesting  pictures, 
and  may  suggest  that  those  who  can  read  can  find  out  the 
story  that  the  pictures  illustrate.  Children  who  can  read  and 
write  can  send  letters  to  Santa  Claus,  and  can  read  the  replies. 
The  ingenious  teacher  can  find  very  many  ways  of  creating  the 
desire  to  learn  to  read.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  many,  if  not  most, 
of  our  beginners  come  to  school  with  the  desire  to  learn  to  read 
already  developed. 

Words.  Our  children  now  having  the  desire  to  learn  to  read, 
we  will  begin  to  satisfy  them.  Suppose  that  we  wish  to  give 
them  first  the  words  ''  leaf  '*  and  "ball."  We  will  hold  up  a 
leaf,  a  real  leaf.  They  will  recognize  it,  and  give  us  its  name. 
We  turn  to  the  blackboard  and  draw  a  few  crooked  marks. 
They  recognize  the  marks  as  a  picture  of  a  leaf.  They  know 
that  these  lines  mean  leaf.  We  now  give  them  another  way  of 
indicating  leaf  by  writing  the  word  on  the  board.  We  write  the 
word  in  various  places,  and  in  various  sizes.  They  know  the 
thing  it  indicates  as  soon  as  they  see  the  marks.  They  think  of 
the  sound  only  incidentally.  The  image  of  a  leaf  arises  in  the 
mind  as  the  eyes  rest  on  the  written  word.  In  like  manner  we 
present  the  word  "  ball;"  first  the  object,  then  the  picture,  fin- 
ally the  word.  They  get  the  idea  that  both  the  picture  and  the 
word  mean  ball.  Next  week  we  will  give  them  the  word 
"  run. ' '  Then  we  will  drill  on  the  three  words.  We  call  John 
to  the  floor.  We  write  the  word  "  leaf. ' '  John  finds  and  holds 
up  the  leaf.  We  write  "ball."  John  finds  the  ball.  We 
write  the  word  "run,"  or  "  John,  run."  John  runs  to  his 
seat.  The  knowledge  has  been  expressed.  The  teacher 
usually  will  find  that  John  recognizes  his  own  name  as  well  as 
the  names  of  his  fellows.  This  fact  aids  the  teacher  in  making 
sentences  for  drill.  Write  "  John."  John  arises.  Add  the 
word  ' '  Run. ' '   John  runs  around  the  room  and  back  to  his  seat. 


82  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

Our  list  of  words  to  be  taught  must  be  carefully  made.  It 
should  include  these  elements: 

1.  Names  of  common  objects  that  can  be  kept  in  the 
school  room. 

2.  Names  of  actions  that  can  be  performed  in  the  school 
room. 

3.  The  first  words  from  the  primer  that  the  class  is  to 
use. 

4.  Parts  of  the  body  and  parts  of  the  room. 

5.  Common  expressions,  such  as  "to,"  "the," 
"  I  see,"  "  I  have,"  etc.,  for  use  in  sentences. 

These  words  should  number  from  fifty  to  eighty.  They 
should  be  used  in  sentences  from  the  first  week.  Two  months 
at  least  should  pass  before  books  are  given  out,  and  before  any 
words  are  analyzed  into  sounds.  During  this  time,  spelling 
should  not  be  taken  up;  though  it  is  sometimes  wise  in  rural 
schools  to  teach  the  alphabet  slowly,  not  as  an  aid  to  reading, 
and  not  in  connection  with  stock  words,  but  merely  as  letters. 
It  will  not  assist  in  learning  to  read,  but  it  may  make  smoother 
relations  between  the  school  and  the  home. 

One  effective  word  list  is  as  follows,  the  object  words  from  the 
reader  being  determined  by  the  reader  to  be  used: 

First  list,  20  words;  time,  4  weeks. 

Action    words: — 

Run,  hop,  skip,  bow,  clap. 
Parts  of  the  room: — 

Chair,  door,  window,  floor. 
Parts  of  the  body: — 

Hand. 
Extra  expressions: — ■ 

To,  the,  is,  I  see. 


PRIMARY  READING  83 

Object  words  from  the  reader: — 
Leaf,  flower,  stem,  bud,  red,  green,  yellow. 

From  another  reader  the  words  would  be : — 
Baby,  mama,  doll,  kitty,  book,  slate. 

From  still  another,  they  would  be: — 
Ball,  box,  cup,  apple,  green,  red,  blue. 

Second  list,  20  words;  time,  2  weeks. 
Action  words: — 

Walk,  fly,  look,  touch,  find,  wave. 
Parts  of  the  room: — 

Ceiling,  floor. 
Parts  of  the  body: — 

Face,  feet,  eyes. 
Extra  expressions: — 

I  can,  I  have,  and. 
Object  words  from  the  reader,  such  as: — 

Seed,  nut,  brown,  white,  black. 

Third  list,  20  words:  time,  2  weeks. 

Action  words: — 

Point,  swing,  eat,  drink,  sleep,  cry. 
Parts  of  the  body: — 

Right,   left. 
Extra  expressions: — 

See,  sees,  I  like. 
From   the  reader: — 

Not,  it,  I  am,  has,  do  you,  man,  sun,  tin,  sand. 

These  words  are  to  be  taught  as  words  in  sentences. 

They  are  not  to  be  spelled,  or  analyzed  into  sounds,  they  are  to 
be  used  in  related  sentences  from  the  first,  sentences  like  these: 
"  Run. '  *  "  Run  to  the  door. ' '  The  words  can  be  taught  in  any 
order.     Do  not  teach  all  the  action    words    together.     Mix 


84  ESSENTIALS    OF  READING 

them  up.  Teach  two  words  at  a  time.  It  has  been  found 
that  children  remember  two  words  at  a  time  with  very  Httle 
more  difficulty  than  one  at  a  time.  It  is  the  comparison  that 
helps.  All  the  words  are  to  be  in  script.  It  will  be  found  help- 
ful to  write  all  new  words  on  pieces  of  cardboard  four  inches 
wide,  and  long  enough  to  accommodate  the  word.  These 
cards  can  be  used  in  building  sentences  by  being  arranged  along 
the  base  of  the  blackboard,  or  can  be  exposed  one  at  a  time  for 
drilling  on  the  stock  words,  or  can  be  used  as  copies  for  writing 
at  the  board  or  at  the  seat.  From  the  first,  the  pupil  should  be 
required  to  write  the  words  and  simple  sentences  on  the  board. 
As  an  aid  the  teacher  should  call  attention  to  her  movements 
while  she  writes  the  word  or  the  sentence  several  times,  so  the 
pupil  will  see  the  place  of  starting  and  the  order  of  movement. 
It  may  be  necessary  to  take  hold  of  his  hand  and  guide  it  while 
the  first  attempts  are  made.  This  writing,  as  in  all  the  writing 
of  the  earlier  years,  should  be  large  and  free,  so  as  to  avoid 
cramped  movements  that  result  from  writing  too  small  letters. 
The  same  word  or  sentence  should  be  written  on  paper  at  the 
seat,  if  not  the  first  time  writing  is  attempted,  very  soon  after. 
It  not  only  helps  to  fix  the  form,  but  it  serves  as  busy  work. 
Some  occupation  should  fill  all  the  time  of  the  pupils.  Trouble 
will  be  avoided  for  the  future  if  the  pupils  from  the  first  learn 
that  school  is  a  busy  place.  If  the  teacher  cannot  use  all  the 
children's  time,  she  should  fill  full  all  that  she  can,  and  send 
them  home  or  from  the  room  to  play  the  rest  of  the  time. 

As  reading  is  the  foundation  subject  of  instruction  in  the 
primary  grades,  the  first  forms  of  busy  work  must  be 
planned  with  relation  to  that  study.  An  excellent  plan  is  to 
have  as  many  sets  of  new  words  as  there  are  members  of  the 
class,  to  be  written  on  small  slips  and  given  out  at  the  close  of 
the  recitation.  These  should  be  kept  at  the  seats  in  pasteboard 
boxes,  to  be  used  in  building  the  sentences  used  in  the  recitation, 


PRIMARY  READING  85 

and  left  on  the  board  for  that  purpose.  They  may  also 
be  used  in  building  such  review  sentences  as  may  be  desired 
or  as  the  teacher  may  suggest.  This  gives  occupation  that 
does  not  tire  the  pupils,  and  that  can  be  used  indefinitely, 
alone  or  in  connection  vi^ith  copying  one  or  more  sentences. 

Little  children  cannot  write  long  without  harmful  effects,  but 
they  will  sort  out  words  or  letters  and  build  sentences  with  pleas- 
ure and  profit  for  a  long  time.  After  they  are  far  enough  ad- 
vanced to  use  letters,  they  should  be  given  boxes  of  assorted  let- 
ters to  be  used  in  building  words  and  sentences. 

Phonics.  We  remember  our  fourth  fact,  "  The  sounds,  the 
sound  symbols,  the  analysis  of  words  into  sounds,  and  the 
synthesis  of  sounds  into  words  should  be  taught  as  soon  as 
possible  without  interfering  in  the  immediate  connection  of 
words  and  the  things  that  the  words  mean. ' '  We  wish  to  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  children  as  soon  as  possible  that  key  to 
our  language,  phonics.  If,  however,  we  begin  too  soon  to 
show  how  words  are  composed  of  sounds,  we  run  the  risk  of 
setting  up  in  the  pupil's  mind  the  sound  between  the  word  and 
the  idea.-  At  the  end  of  two  months  of  sentence  reading,  this 
danger  should  be  past.  We  can  now  begin  to  pick  out 
sounds  in  words.  Some  work  can  be  done  even  earlier,  if  done 
at  a  different  period  from  the  reading.  The  sounds  a,  e,  0, 
/,  /,  m,  r,  s,  ing,  ings,  ight,  ights,  should  be  taught  during  the 
first  six  weeks. 

Let  it  be  understood  that  the  work  in  phonics  is  to  be 
at  a  different  time  and  unconnected  with  the  work  in 
reading.  In  all  sound  teaching  the  children  should  first  hear 
the  soiind  correctly  given  by  the  teacher.  This  in  itself  calls 
for  considerable  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  She 
should  know  how  each  sound  is  produced  by  the  organs  of 
speech,  and  she  should  be  able  to  give  each  one  correctly  and 
distinctly.     The  pupils  should  then  give  the  sound.    It  must 


86  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

be  seen  that  each  child  gives  it  correctly.  The  next  step  is  to 
have  them  compare  this  new  sound  with  old  ones,  noticing  the 
differences.  The  final  exercise  is  distinguishing  this  new  sound 
and  sounds  already  known.  The  order  of  teaching  a  sound  is, 
(i)  giving  the  sound  to  the  children;  (2)  having  them  give  the 
sound;  (3)  having  them  compare  the  sound  with  other  sounds; 
(4)  having  them  pick  out  the  sound  from  other  sounds.  A  useful 
device  is  another  pack  of  cards  from  four  to  six  inches  square. 
On  each  card  is  written  large  and  plain  one  sound  symbol. 
The  teacher  exposes  these  cards  one  at  a  time,  the  pupils  giving 
the  sound  as  the  teacher  exposes  the  card.  New  cards  should 
be  added  as  new  sounds  are  added.  The  teacher  can  vary  the 
exercise  by  calling  on  individual  pupils  for  sounds,  and  the 
class  for  help  in  mistakes  or  delays. 

Analysis  of  words  begins  at  the  beginning  of  the  third 
month.  The  child  can  be  given  the  book,  provided  the  book 
begins  with  script.  He  now  knows  some  sixty  words  at  sight, 
and  some  ten  sound  symbols.  The  teacher  begins  to  let  him 
discover  that  words  are  made  up  of  sound  symbols.  He  finds 
that  "sing  "  is  merely  5  and  ing^  that  "light  "  is  /  and  ight^ 
etc.  The  teacher  encourages  him  to  pursue  his  investigation. 
All  new  words  that  are  capable  of  being  taught  by  sound  are 
so  taught.  For  instance,  the  word  "  might  "  occurs  for  the  first 
time.  The  teacher  covers  the  m  with  her  hand,  and  the  pupils 
recognize  an  old  friend  in  the  ighi  part  of  the  word.  M  is  no 
less  easily  recognized.  The  teacher  removes  her  hand  entirely 
and  the  pupils  put  together  the  two  old  sounds.  They  now 
have  a  word  added  to  their  vocabulary,  but  they  also  have  gain- 
ed some  power  in  the  control  of  phonics.  The  teacher  should 
devote  considerable  time  to  this  drill.  Most  of  the  sixty  words 
already  learned  can  now  be  analyzed.  Many  new  words  can 
also  be  given.  Some  words,  however,  like  cough,  Hiawatha, 
tongue,  beautiful,  must  still  be  taught  by  the  sight.    Such  words 


PRIMARY   READING  87 

are  those  whose  speUing  does  not  indicate  the  sound  of  the  word. 
Our  language  is  so  constituted  that  there  will  always  be  some 
words  that  the  children  must  learn  by  sight. 

For  some  weeks  the  teacher  continues  the  work  as  before,  the 
children  reading  the  script  lessons  in  the  book,  the  teacher  giv- 
ing new  sight  and  new  phonic  words,  and  new  sound  sym- 
bols. In  about  four  weeks  she  can  introduce  the  children  to 
the  printed  letters.  During  this  time  they  can  be  taught  some 
fifteen  or  twenty  new  sounds.  In  case  the  reader  that  the 
teacher  must  give  to  the  children  has  no  script,  the  books  should 
not  be  given  out  so  soon.  The  transition  from  script  to  print  is 
best  made  in  blackboard  work.  This  change  is  not  really  as 
difficult  for  the  children  as  it  is  often  supposed  to  be.  It 
should  be  made  gradually.  In  fact  it  can  be  made  and  the 
children  hardly  be  conscious  of  it.  As  the  teacher  places  the 
script  work  on  the  board,  she  can  now  and  then  put  a  word  in 
print.  The  children  will  recognize  the  word,  and  will  pass  it 
with  but  sHght  hesitation.  More  and  more  words  can  be  printed 
until  the  class  are  reading  print  almost  without  noticing  it. 
This  very  effective  device  has  been  called  the  "  primary  slide. '  * 
Another  very  useful  device  is  the  writing  of  the  sentences 
twice,  once  in  script,  and  once  immediately  below  the  script, 
in  print.  After  the  children  are  reading  from  the  print  of 
the  reader,  the  work  continues  in  all  the  elements  as  before. 
For  all  of  the  first  and  second  year  of  school  the  teacher  still 
gives  more  sounds,  and  drills  constantly  on  the  old  sounds. 
More  and  more  words  are  phonetic  words  as  the  pupils  have 
a  larger  and  larger  stock  of  sound  symbols.  The  teacher  still 
continues  the  training  of  the  children  to  separate  words  into 
sounds. 

Order  of  Sounds.  In  the  arrangement  of  the  order  in 
which  the  sounds  are  to  be  given  to  the  children,  these  prin- 
ciples should  be  observed:    First,  sounds  that  are  the  easiest 


88  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

should  be  given  as  early  as  possible;  second,  sounds  that  are 
most  common  should  be  given  as  early  as  possible;  third,  sound 
signs  not  found  in  the  dictionaries  should  not  be  used;  fourth, 
very  common  combinations  of  letters  such  as  ight,  old,  eat,  ail, 
should  be  treated  as  single  sound  symbols. 


COURSE  IN  PRIMARY  READING 

FIRST    PERIOD 

Characteristic. —  Teaching  sight  words  and  sounds  sepa- 
rately. 

Time.  —  Eight  to  ten  v^eeks. 

Reading. —  Sixty  to  a  hundred  words  by  sight. 

Phonetic  Work. —  Teaching  the  symbols,  a,  e,  f,  u,-€,  d,  1,  n, 
p,t. 

SECOND   PERIOD 

Characteristic. —  Introducing  the  book  and  teaching  analysis 
of  words  into  sounds. 

Time. —  Four  weeks. 

Reading. —  From  the  reader,  both  sight  and  phonetic  words. 

Phonetic  Work. —  Teaching  the  symbols  o,  un,  Tc,  Tp,  k,  ick, 
r,  b,  bl,  br,  pi,  f,  ch,  m,  ing,  ight,  tr,  s,  ter,  y;  training  pupils  to 
recognize  sounds  in  words,  and  to  make  words  out  of  sounds 
whose  symbols  are  known. 

THIRD   PERIOD 

Characteristic. —  Change  from  script  to  print. 
Time. —  About  four  weeks. 

Reading. —  From  the  reader,  both  sight  and  phonetic  words. 
Phonetic  Work. —  Teach  symbols  dr,  ck,  a,  e,  i,  ly,  less, 
ness,  s. 
Continue  the  sound  training. 


PRIMARY  READING  89 

FOURTH  PERIOD 

Characteristic. —  Increasing  proportion  of  phonetic  words. 

Time. —  The  remainder  of  the  first  year  of  school.  About 
five  months. 

Reading. —  From  the  readers.  Many  new  phonetic  words. 
Some  new  sight  words.     Much  easy  reading. 

Phonetic  Work. —  Much  training  in  sounds.  Much  drill  on 
old  and  new  phonetic  words.  Sound  symbols  a,  a,  cl,  cr,  5,  g, 
glj  gr>  ^)  j>  h,  sh,  ish,  th,  v,  06,  06,  ph,  ful,  6,  ou,  o,  o,  ow,  u,  u, 
w,  wh,  y,  and  a  and  e  italicised. 

This  course  leaves  for  the  work  of  the  second  year  the  re- 
maining sounds,  including  ji,  a,  a,  ar,  ar,  e,  e,  er,  ^r,  gh,  1,  i,Tr, 
n,  6,  6,  9r,  oi,  oy,  q,  qu,  u,  u,  ur,  x,x,  z. 

The  sound  training  should  be  continued  in  the  second  year. 
Indeed  all  through  the  eight  grades  there  should  be  constant 
work  with  sounds  and  the  diacritical  marks. 

DRAMATIZATION 
An  appeal  to  dramatic  instinct  leads  children  to  a  freer 
use  of  the  imagination.  The  formality  of  the  school  room 
tends  to  repress  that  natural  activity  of  the  imagination 
that  is  so  characteristic  of  children  at  play.  While  there  must 
be  a  certain  amount  of  restraint  in  an  organization,  there  should 
be  a  counteracting  influence  at  times  in  connection  with  read- 
ing, especially  in  the  primary  classes,  or  the  pupil  will  lose  the 
spirit  in  the  exactions  of  the  effort  to  secure  the  form.  There 
are  many  selections  where  a  part  or  all  of  the  story  can  be  easily 
dramatized  and- given  in  dialogue.  Generally  this  will  follow 
the  study  of  the  exercise  in  the  regular  way.  Sometimes  the 
change  can  be  introduced  for  a  part  of  the  time  in  the  regular 
development  of  the  lesson,  when  the  pupils  are  having  difficulty 
in  expressing  the  meaning  because  they  do  not  have  the  point  of 
view. 


90  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 


The  children  enjoy  acting  parts.  Especially  is  this  true 
when  it  includes  the  novelty  of  representing  animals  and  inani- 
mate objects  that  are  endowed  with  the  power  of  speech.  Let 
one  pupil  represent  the  cat,  and  another  the  girl,  and  clear- 
ness of  meaning  with  the  attendant  naturalness  of  expression 
will  follow  from  this  simple  dialogue: 

Girl.  Pussy-cat,  pussy-cat, 

Where  have  you  been  ? 
Cat.  I've  been  to  London 

To  look  at  the  queen. 
Girl.  Pussy-cat,  pussy-cat, 

What  did  you  there  ? 
Cat.  I  frightened  a  little  mouse 

Under  the  chair. 

LITTLE  BOY  BLUE 
To  dramatize  "Little  Boy  Blue,'*  have  a  pupil  lie  down 
and  go  to  sleep  on  a  recitation  seat.     It  does  not  require  many 
stage  accessories  to  satisfy  little  children.    Then  two  pupils 
enter,  searching  for  some  one. 

First.         Little  boy  blue,  come  blow  your  horn, 

The  sheep's  in  the  meadow,  the  cow's  in  the  corn. 

Second.      Where's  the  boy  that  looks  after  the  sheep  ? 

First.         {pointing  to  him).     He's  under  the  haycock,  fast  asleep. 

Second.      Will  you  wake  him  ? 

First.  No,  not  I  — 

For  if  I  do,  he'll  be  sure  to  cry. 

This  arrangement  is  better  than  the  prose  paraphrase 
sometimes  used  as  it  preserves  the  literary  form  of  the  original. 

LADY  MOON 
Child.        Lady  Moon,  Lady  Moon,  where  are  you  roving  ? 
Moon.       Over  the  sea. 

Child.       Lady  Moon,  Lady  Moon,  whom  are  you  loving? 
Moon.       All  that  love  me. 


PRIMARY  READING 


91 


Child. 


Moon. 


Child. 
Moon. 
Child. 
Moon. 


Are  you  not  tired  with  rolling  and  never 

Resting  to  sleep  ? 
Why  look  so  pale  and  so  sad,  as  forever 

Wishing  to  weep  ? 
Ask  me  not  this,  little  child,  if  you  love  me; 

You  are  too  bold. 
I  must  obey  my  dear  Father  above  me, 

And  do  as  I'm  told. 
Lady  Moon,  Lady  Moon,  where  are  you  roving? 
Over  the  sea. 

Lady  Moon,  Lady  Moon,  whom  are  you  loving? 
All  that  love  me. 


THE  FLOWER  GIRL 
Boy.  Little  girl,  little  girl,  where  have  you  been  ? 

Girl.  Gathering  roses  to  give  to  the  Queen. 

Boy.  Little  girl,  little  girl,  what  gave  she  you  ? 

Girl.  She  gave  me  a  diamond  as  big  as  my  shoe. 

THE  MILK-MAID 
Boy.  Little  maid,  pretty  maid,  whither  goest  thou  ? 

Girl.  Down  in  the  forest  to  milk  my  cow. 

Boy.  Shall  I  go  with  you  ? 

Girl.  No,  not  now. 

When  I  send  for  thee,  then  come  thou. 


WILLY  BOY 
Girl.  Willy  boy,  Willy  boy,  where  are  you  going? 

I  will  go  with  you,  if  that  I  may. 
Boy.  I'm  going  to  the  meadow  to  see  them  a-mowin^ 

I'm  going  to  help  them  to  make  the  hay. 


THE  NEIGHBORS 
First.         What's  the  news  of  the  day, 

Good  neighbor,  I  pray? 
Second.      They  say  the  balloon 

Is  gone  up  to  the  moon. 


92 


ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 


Sometimes  poems  can  be  used  with  slight  changes  that 
do  not  destroy  the  form.  *The  Three  Kittens"  is  one  of 
this  type. 

THE  THREE  KITTENS 

Kittens  {crying). 

O  mother  dear 

We  very  much  fear 

Our  mittens  we  have  lost. 
Mother.     What,  lost  your  mittens! 

You  naughty  kittens! 

Then  you  shall  have  no  pie. 
Kittens.     Mee-ow,  mee-ow,  mee-ow. 
Mother.     No,  you  shall  have  no  pie. 
Kittens.     Mee-ow,  mee-ow,  mee-ovv. 
Kittens.     O  mother  dear, 

See  here,  see  here. 

Our  mittens  we  have  found. 
Mother.     Oh,  found  your  mittens 

You  darling  kittens. 

Then  you  may  have  some  pie. 
Kittens.     Purr-r,  purr-r,  purr-r. 

Oh,  let  us  have  some  pie. 

Purr-r,  purr-r,  purr-r. 
Kittens.     O  mother  dear, 

We  greatly  fear 

Our  mittens  we  have  soiled. 
Mother.     What,  soiled  your  mittens! 

You  naughty  kittens! 

To  wash  them  you  must  try. 
Kittens.     Mee-ow,  mee-ow,  mee-ow. 
Mother.     Yes,  to  wash  them  you  must  try. 
Kittens.     Mee-ow,  mee-ow,  mee-ow. 
Kittens.     O  mother  dear. 

Do  you  not  hear, 

Our  mittens  we  have  washed. 
Mother.     Ah,  washed  your  mittens! 

You  are  good  kittens. 

But  I  smell  a  rat  close  by! 


PRIMARY  READING  93 

KUtens,     Hush,  hush!  mee-ow,  mee-ow! 
We  smell  a  rat  close  by. 
Mee-ow,  mee-ow,  mee-ow. 

BLACK  SHEEP 
Boy.  Bah,  bah,  black  sheep. 

Have  you  any  wool  ? 
Sheep.       Yes,  sir;  yes,  sir; 

Three  bags  full: 

One  for  my  master, 

And  one  for  my  dame, 

And  one  for  the  little  boy 

Who  lives  in  the  lane. 

THE  THREE  CROWS 

1st.  What  do  yoa  think  I  saw  this  morn  ? 

2nd.  I  know,  I  know;  it  was  some  corn. 

1st.  How  many  crows  will  go  with  me  ? 

2nd.  Be  quiet,  friends,  a  man  I  see. 

1st.  Caw,  caw!    Caw,  caw,  he  has  a  gun! 

yd.  Now  let's  be  off;  fly,  every  one. 

Often  monologue  is  quite  effective.  There  are  many  poems 
that  can  be  used  in  this  way.  There  must  always  be  two  or 
more  acting,  though  but  one  speaks. 

Speaker.  Mary,  Mary,  quite  contrary. 

How  does  your  garden  grow  ? 
With  cockle-shells  and  silver  bells 
And  pretty  maids  all  in  a  row. 

THE  STORY 
I'll  tell  you  a  story 
About  Jack  a  Nory, — 
And  now  my  story's  begun, 
I'll  tell  you  another 
About  his  brother, — 
And  now  my  story  is  done. 


94  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

THE  BEGGARS 
Hark,  hark, 
Hark,  hark, 
The  dogs  do  bark, 

The  beggars  are  coming  to  town; 
Some  in  tags. 
Some  in  rags, 

And  some  in  velvet  gowns. 

No  change  should  be  made  that  alters  materially  the 
form  of  a  poem.  The  form  is  an  inseparable  part  of  the  poem. 
The  rhythm  and  the  rhyme  are  as  important  elements  as  are  the 
words.  The  presentation  of  the  characters  of  the  Mother  Goose 
melodies  in  prose  dialogue  is  neither  pleasing  nor  edifying. 
They  should  not  be  spoiled  in  this  manner. 

Monologue  poems  of  length  can  be  assigned  to  several 
pupils.  Among  those  well  adapted  are  ''I  Love  Little  Pussy," 
by  Jane  Taylor;  "  The  North  Wind  doth  Blow; ' '  "  If  I  were 
a  Sunbeam,"  by  Lucy  Larcom;  "  Don't  Kill  the  Birds,"  by 
Thomas  Colesworthy;  "  The  Fairies,"  by  William  AUingham; 
"  Suppose,"  by  Phoebe   Gary. 

Prose  can  be  adapted  with  more  freedom.  The  form  is 
not  so  closely  associated  with  the  meaning.  Any  change  that 
preserves  the  spirit  is  proper.  The  story  of  ''Little  Red  Hen" 
is  well  suited  to  dramatic  purposes.  The  characters  are  the 
Little  Red  Hen,  the  Mouse,  the  Pig,  the  Cat,  and  the  Chicks. 


Will 


Scene  i. 

Little  Red  Hen. 

Here  is  a  grain  of  wheat.     Who  will  plant  it  ? 

you,  little  mouse? 

Mouse. 

No,  indeed,  not  I. 

Little  Red  Hen. 

Will  you  plant  it,  pig? 

Pig. 

I  will  not. 

Little  Red  Hen. 

Will  you  plant  it,  cat  ? 

Cat. 

No,  I  will  not. 

Little  Red  Hen. 

Well,  I  will  plant  it  myself,  then. 

PRIMARY  READING  95 

Scene  ii. 

Litile  Red  Hen.  My  wheat  is  grown.     Who  will  cut  it  ? 

Mouse.  Not  I.     I  wish  to  play. 

Little  Red  Hen.  Will  you  cut  it,  pig? 

Pig.  I  will  not. 

Little  Red  Hen.  Wih  you  cut  it,  cat  ? 

Cat.  No,  I  am  too  sleepy. 

Little  Red  Hen.  Well,  I  will  cut  it  myself,  then. 

Scene  hi. 
(Develop  the  threshing  similarly.) 

Scene  iv. 
(Develop  the  grinding  similarly.) 

Scene  v. 
(Develop  the  baking  similarly.) 

Scene  vi. 
Little  Red  Hen.    See  my  fine  loaf  of  bread.   Who  will  help  me  cat  it? 
Mouse.  I  will. 

Pig.  I  will. 

Cat.  I  will. 

Little  Red  Hen.     No,  you  will  not.    The  chicks  and  I  will  eat  it. 
Come,  chick!  chick!  chick! 

Among  other  prose  selections  well  adapted  to  dramatization 
are  "  The  Three  Goats  and  the  Turnip  Patch, ' '  "  The  Boy  and 
the  Wolf,"  ''  Silver  Locks,"  "  Chicken  Little,"  *'  The'  Ant 
and  the  Grasshopper,"  "The  Field  Mouse  and  the  Town 
Mouse.  ' '  These  are  merely  suggestive.  The  teacher  will  find 
an  abundance  of  material  for  this  purpose  by  studying  the 
selections  in  the  best  primary  readers. 


96  ESSENTIALS  OF   READING 


OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  VIII 

PRIMARY  READING 
Various  methods. 

Alphabet  method 

Phonic  method. 

Word  method. 

Sentence  method. 
An  Eclectic  method. 

Principles. 
Words. 

The  child's  vocabulary. 

The  desire  to  read. 

Teaching  the  first  wca-ds.  , 

Word  list. 

Using  the  words  in  sentences. 
Phonics. 

Importance. 

Beginning  of  phonic  work. 

Change  from  script  to  print. 

Order  of  sounds. 
Dramatizing. 

Advantage  —  clear  understanding. 

Children  enjoy  acting  a  part. 

Examples  for  practice. 

FOR  REVIEW  AND  SUGGESTION 

1.  What  are  the  principal  methods  of  teaching  primary  reading? 

2.  What  is  the  distinctive  element  of  each? 

3.  Why  is  the   alphabet  method  the  one  naturally  adopted  by  the 
untrained  teacher  ? 

4.  What  disadvantage  does  the  method  have  ? 

5.  Can  children  be  taught  to  read  by  the  alphabet  method  ? 

6.  What  advantages  has  a  phonic  method  ?    What  disadvantages  ? 

7.  What  good  points  has  a  word  method?     What  dangers? 

8.  What  is  the  source  of  disagreement  between  the  word  method  and 
the  sound  method  adherents  ? 

9.  Which  do  you  think  is  right? 
10.     WTiat  is  an  eclectic  method? 


PRIMARY  READING  97 

1 1 .  What    should  be  the  foundation  principles  in  teaching  primary 
reading  ? 

12.  What  proportion   of  children  already  desire  to   read  when    they 
enter  school? 

13.  How  many  words  do  children   know  when  they  enter  school  ? 

14.  Do  any  of  them  know  the  alphabet  ? 

15.  What  else  are  they  likely  to  know ? 

16.  Is  it  a  good  thing  for  parents  to  try  to  teach  the  children  some- 
thing of  reading  before  they  start  them  to  school  ? 

17.  Of  what  importance  is  a  desire  to  read? 

18.  How  can  it  be  created? 

19.  Why  is  it  not  best  to  teach  the  children  to  spell  or  sound  words  at 
first? 

20.  What  should  the  first  words  be  ? 

21.  Why  are  many  action  words  desirable? 

22.  How  many  words  can  best  be  taught  at  once?    Why? 

23.  Why  teach  such  expressions  as  "  I  have,"  "  to  the,"  etc? 

24.  How  early  should  books  be  given  out? 

25.  Should  children  be  started  with  script  or  print? 

26.  When  should  the  other  be  introduced? 

27.  How  can  the  change  be  made? 

28.  What  differences  should  be  made  on  account  of  the  particular 
book  the  teacher  expects  to  use  ? 

29.  When  should  writing  be  begun  ?     SpelUng? 

30.  How  many  times  a  day  should  beginners  be  heard  in  reading  ? 

31.  When  should  phonic  work  begin? 

32.  What  should  the  first  phonic  work  be? 

33.  When  can  analysis  of  words  into  sounds  begin  ?   Why  not  sooner  ? 

34.  Does   it   make  any  difference  what   sounds  are  taught  first? 
Why? 

35 .  How  can  the  teacher  make  the  old  words  help  in  teaching  the  ne w  ? 

36.  What  kind  of  words  should  not  be  taught  by  sound  ?     Why  ? 

37.  What  are  the  characteristics  of  the   four   periods  of  primary 
reading  ? 

^8.  How  many  readers  should  the  children  read  in  the  first  year? 

39.  What  primary  reader  do  you  like  best  ?     Why  ? 

40.  Why  have  the  children  use  the  blackboard  for  the  first  writing? 

41.  How  does  the  writing  help  the  reading? 

42.  Of  what  value  is  dramatizing  selections? 

43.  What  cautions  are  to  be  observed? 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   DIVISION   OF   A   READING   RECITATION   AND 
ASSIGNMENT  OF  THE  LESSON 

Division  of  a  reading  recitation.  The  time  allotted  to 
the  recitation  in  reading  should  be  carefully  apportioned  to 
the  different  operations  of  a  reading  recitation.  These  oper- 
ations are  four  in  number:  ist.  —  The  recitation  proper, 
consisting  of  hearing  the  pupils  read,  questioning  them  on 
the  thought,  and  interpreting  what  needs  interpretation. 
2nd. —  Drilling  in  articulation.  3rd. — The  assignment  of  the 
new  lesson.     4th. — Supplementary  reading. 

The  time  apportioned  to  each  operation.  No  universal 
division  of  time  can  be  recommended.  x\t  one  time  a  teacher 
may  find  it  necessary  to  give  more  than  usual  attention  to 
exercise  in  articulation.  At  another  time  she  may  find  it  best 
to  devote  an  unusually  long  time  to  questions  on  the  thought, 
thereby  shortening  the  time  for  drill  in  articulation.  Again, 
a  teacher  may  find  the  lesson  she  expects  to  assign  contains 
such  a  number  of  new  words  and  strange  ideas  that  she  must 
take  half  of  the  recitation  period  to  make  the  assignment. 
It  may  be  that  the  lesson  to  be  assigned  contains  no  new 
word  or  ideas.  Then  the  amount  of  time  necessary  for  this 
operation  becomes  zero.  Under  average  conditions  a  thirty 
minute  reading  recitation  should  be  divided  into  about 
seventeen  minutes  for  oral  reading,  questioning,  and  inter- 
preting, three  minutes  for  exercise  in  articulation,  five  minutes 
for  the  assignment  of  the  new  lesson,  and  five  minutes  for 
supplementary    reading.     Very  often  this  last  time  can   be 

98 


ASSIGNMENT  OF  LESSON  99 

saved  by  having  this  reading  done  in  the  period  of  some  other 
class,  or  in  the  opening  exercises. 

The  assignment  of  the  reading  lesson.  It  is  economy  of 
time  to  make  a  careful  assignment  of  the  new  lesson.  A 
minute  at  this  operation  may  save  misunderstandings  that 
would  require  many  minutes  to  detect  and  clear  up.  Four 
things  must  be  considered  in  assigning  a  reading  lesson: 
first,  the  selection  of  the  lesson;  second,  the  length  of  the 
lesson;  third,  the  development  of  the  new  words  and  ideas; 
fourth,  the  exposition  of  the  work  to  be  done  by  the  pupils 
in  the  process  of  preparation. 

The  selection  of  a  lesson.  The  teacher  should  select  the 
lesson  before  she  comes  to  her  class.  She  should  bear  in 
mind  that  the  lesson  should  be  of  a  nature  suited:  first,  to 
the  class;  and,  second,  to  the  purpose  of  the  teacher.  It 
should  be  of  such  a  nature  as  to  be  likely  to  interest  the  pupils. 
It  should  be  of  such  difl&culty  as  will  test  their  power,  but 
not  over-tax  it. 

The  purpose  of  the  teacher.  The  teacher  may  see  that 
her  pupils  lack  facility  in  the  reading  of  material  in  which 
there  are  no  new  words.  She  should  select  lessons  of  this 
nature  until  the  pupils  gain  the  desired  facility.  Then  her 
purpose  may  change.  She  may  wish  them  to  increase  their 
vocabulary.  The  lesson  selected  will  then  contain  many 
new  words.  It  may  be  that  she  finds  the  pupils  unable  to 
read  verse  well.  She  consequently  assigns  those  lessons 
which  are  in  verse.  She  may  find  her  pupils  much  inter- 
ested in  some  poem  by  Longfellow.  It  would  be  well  for  her 
to  assign  another  lesson  from  the  same  author.  If  she  wishes 
to  familiarize  the  class  with  types  and  effects,  she  must 
assign  lessons  suitable  for  that  work.  If  she  wishes  to  cul- 
tivate the  power  of  gleaning  thought  by  silent  reading,  she 
should  select  lessons  of  more  than  ordinary  difl&culty,  and 


lOo  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

should  devote  the  recitation  period  to  questions  on  the  thought. 
Let  her  realize  that  order  in  the  book  is  a  consideration  not  to 
be  compared  with  the  reasons  mentioned  above. 

The  length  of  the  lesson.  This  also  must  be  suited  to 
the  pupils,  and  to  the  purpose  of  the  teacher.  It  may  vary 
from  a  few  lines  in  work  in  types  or  effects,  to  pages  in  gain- 
ing facility  in  recognizing  old  words.  It  must  always  be 
the  subject  of  careful  judgment. 

The  development  of  new  words  and  ideas.  A  certain 
lovable  and  scholarly  professor  of  Greek  in  a  large  college 
held  to  the  opinion  that  he  could  judge  a  student's  knowledge 
of  a  page  of  Thucydides  by  the  way  the  student  pronounced 
the  text.  His  classes  could  have  given  him  much  information 
as  to  the  fallacy  of  his  belief,  had  it  been  to  their  advantage 
to  speak.  A  small  boy  may  pronounce  very  glibly  words  and 
sentences  whose  meaning  to  him  is  not  at  all  what  it  is  to  the 
teacher.  A  schoolboy  insisted  that  a  dirty  tramp  ran  out 
from  under  the  bridge  and  caught  Ichabod  Crane  by  the 
ear.  He  cited  as  proof  the  exact  words  of  Irving,  "Just  at 
this  moment  a  plashy  tramp  caught  the  sensitive  ear  of 
Ichabod."  Another  original  thinker  spoke  of  Annie  Laurie's 
donkey,  and  when  questioned  as  to  his  sources  of  information 
concerning  the  beast,  triumphantly  pointed  to  "Maxwel- 
ton's  braes  are  bonnie."  The  boy  would  doubtless  have 
read  the  line  with  good  expression,  but  with  a  mental  picture 
somewhat  different  from  that  of  the  teacher.  The  mistake 
would  not  have  occurred  had  the  teacher  in  assigning  the 
lesson  spoken  of  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  braes." 

The  dictionary  will  not  do  the  work  of  the  teacher. 
Nevertheless  the  dictionary  is  very  helpful.  Each  child 
above  the  fourth  grade  should  be  supplied  with  one,  and 
should  be  trained  to  use  it.  The  dictionary,  however,  gives 
the  mere  skeleton  of  a  meaning.     The  teacher  must  make  the 


ASSIGNMENT  OF  LESSON loi 

new  idea  live  in  the  mind  of  the  pupil.  A  certain  common 
school  dictionary  defines  lobster  as  "an  edible  marine  crus- 
tacean."   What  an  assistance  to  a  ten-year-old  boy! 

The  teacher  must  see  to  it  that  the  pupils  have  the 
ideas  necessary  to  enable  them  to  understand  the  new 
lesson.  If  possible,  she  should  show  them  a  lobster.  If 
that  is  impossible,  then  a  picture  of  a  lobster,  speaking  of 
its  color,  appearance,  and  use.  It  is  not  necessary  to  make 
a  detailed  study  of  the  thing,  inquiring  into  its  anatomy, 
habits  of  life,  methods  of  catching  it,  etc.  Such  a  study 
would  be  interesting,  and  possibly  profitable,  for  nature  study 
or  for  the  purposes  of  composition  work;  but  not  much  read- 
ing could  be  done  if  every  object  mentioned  were  studied  in 
such  a  fashion.  The  important  thing  is  that  the  child  have 
a  correct,  though  maybe  not  detailed,  conception  of  the  objects 
mentioned  in  the  new  lesson.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  review  the 
new  and  difficult  words  at  the  opening  of  the  recitation  of 
the  lesson. 

An  example.  In  the  lesson  *'The  Lark  and  the  Farmer  " 
(Chapter  Three),  the  teacher  will  find  it  necessary  to  explain 
these  words  and  probably  others:  Lark,  field,  neighbors, 
frightened,  reapers,  hurry,  kinsfolk,  harvest,  notice,  whet, 
scythes.  It  would  be  well  to  show  the  children  a  scythe,  or 
a  picture  of  a  scythe,  and  to  call  up  to  their  recollection 
some  larks'  nest.  In  ''The  Village  Blacksmith"  (Chapter  Two), 
the  teacher  must  see  that  the  children  have  ideas  of  these: 
Spreading  chestnut  tree,  sinewy,  brawny,  crisp,  tan,  bellows, 
sledge,  sexton,  village,  forge,  smithy,  threshing  floor,  choir, 
anvil,  repose. 

Many  words  do  more  than  designate  certain  objects, 
attributes,  or  actions.  These  words  not  only  express  the 
ideas  that  they  are  expected  to  convey,  but  they  also  excite 
the   feelings   to  greater   or  less  degree.    Each  of  the  words 


I02  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

storm,  ocean,  tornado,  mouse,  causes  in  the  mind  of  the  hearer 
a  slight  degree  of  the  same  emotion  that  would  be  caused 
by  the  presence  of  the  object  itself.  If  the  hearer  has  seen 
the  object,  the  effect  is  of  course  much  greater  than  other- 
wise. The  scenes  in  his  experience  rise  again  in  his  mind. 
The  emotional  effect  of  the  word  is  great  in  just  the  propor- 
tion in  which  the  memory  of  his  experience  is  vivid.  If  the 
word  indicates  something  not  in  one's  experience,  it  may 
still  rouse  the  emotion  through  the  imagination.  Such  a 
word  to  most  people  is  the  word  Arctic,  The  word  sets  up 
in  the  mind  a  mental  image  of  the  frozen  North,  and  a  feel- 
ing of  fear  and  dread  is  aroused.  One  who  does  not  have 
this  feeling  cannot  appreciate  Whittier's  lines, 
The  wolf  beneath  the  Arctic  moon, 
Has  listened  to  that  startling  rune. 
Our  work  in  reading  fails  of  one  great  end  if  it  does  not 
help  our  pupils  to  understand  and  to  appreciate  literature. 
It  therefore  becomes  the  duty  of  the  teacher  to  increase  the 
emotional  value  of  words  to  pupils. 

In  assigning  a  lesson  the  teacher  should  so  use  the 
child's  experience  and  imagination  as  to  enable  the 
poetic  words  and  phrases  to  touch  his  emotions.  She 
should  cause  the  pupil  to  tell  the  experiences  that  the  word 
brings  into  his  mind,  when  it  was,  where  it  was,  etc.  Such 
an  operation  increases  the  facility  of  the  action  of  the  word 
on  the  feelings,  the  very  end  we  desire  to  gain.  This  exer- 
cise should  not  be  confined  to  the  assignment  of  the  lesson. 
It  should  be  part  of  the  assigned  work.  It  should  continue 
until  all  such  words  and  phrases  as  misty  light,  sea,  sea  oj  dew, 
■flaming  forge,  measured  heat,  dove,  sting,  Venice,  touch  the 
emotional  nature  of  the  child. 

Assigned  work.  The  assignment  of  the  lesson  is  of 
course  incomplete  unless  specific  directions  are  given  to  the 


ASSIGNMENT   OF  LESSON  103 

pupils  as  to  the  work  to  be  done  in  preparation  for  the  next 
recitation.  One  reason  why  we  have  not  had  the  results  in 
reading  that  we  have  had  in  other  branches  is  that  the  assign- 
ment of  work  has  not  been  so  definite.  A  pupil  knows  when 
he  has  prepared  his  arithmetic  lesson,  and  he  does  not  hope 
to  conceal  his  failure  when  he  has  not  prepared  it. 

The  assignment  in  reading,  ''Take  the  next  two  pages,  and 
study  them  carefully,"  is  likely  to  get  the  scanty  considera- 
tion that  it  deserves.  The  assignment  should  be  in  the  form 
of  detailed  directions  telling  what  to  do,  or  questions  to  be 
answered  either  orally  or  in  writing.  The  questions  may 
be  about  words,  meanings,  types,  effects,  or  any  other  sub- 
ject connected  with  the  selection.  The  directions  may  include 
the  looking  up  of  meanings,  the  making  of  lists  of  words; 
for  instance,  a  list  containing  all  the  words  in  the  lesson  that 
recall  agreeable  experiences,  a  list  of  all  the  words  that  are 
hard  to  spell,  or  a  list  of  all  the  words  whose  meaning  is  not 
clear  to  the  pupil.  It  is  usually  found  best  to  put  the  assign- 
ment on  the  blackboard. 

Model  assignment  for  "The  Lark  and  the  Farmer." 
Where  did  the  Lark  build  the  nest?  How  many  young 
Larks  were  there?  In  what  danger  were  they?  What 
time  of  the  year  was  this?  How  did  the  Mother  Lark  feel 
as  she  flew  away?  Why  was  not  the  old  Lark  frightened 
on  the  first  two  days  ?  What  kind  of  a  man  was  the  farmer  ? 
Make  a  list  of  words  hard  to  spell. 

Model  assignment  for  "The  Village  Blacksmith."  Read 
it  through  three  times.  What  is  a  smithy?  A  bellows?  An 
anvil?  Did  you  ever  see  a  flaming  forge?  When?  What 
tree  does  "spreading  chestnut  tree"  make  you  think  of? 
What  kind  of  a  man  was  the  blacksmith?  Copy  the  first 
stanza  and  mark  the  groups. 

At  least  five  minutes  of  each  day  should  be  spent  in 


104  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

oral  supplementary  reading.  The  children  should  also 
be  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  interesting  easy  read- 
ing for  silent  reading.  In  most  schools  this  work  is  limited 
by  financial  conditions.  The  oral  supplementary  reading, 
however,  requires  but  little  expense.  Two  or  three  books, 
a  current  events  paper,  or  the  Sunday  school  papers  are  all 
that  is  absolutely  necessary.  But  one  book  or  paper  of  a  kind 
is  needed;  indeed,  it  is  better  to  have  but  one.  The  work  is 
individual.  The  pupil  is  given  the  book  a  day  or  two  in 
advance.  He  is  told  what  selection  or  part  of  a  selection 
he  is  to  read.  He  studies  it  over,  probably  at  home,  usually 
with  some  help  from  parents  or  teacher.  He  knows  that 
all  depend  on  him  for  the  understanding  of  the  selection. 
He  is  put  into  the  right  mental  attitude.  (See  Mental  Atti- 
tude.) When  the  time  comes,  he  walks  to  the  front  of  the 
room,  faces  the  pupils  and  reads.  The  use  of  the  reading 
period  alone  limits  this  work  to  one  or  two  pupils  a  day. 
The  'geography  period  can  be  used  also  in  reading  from 
such  books  as  "Around  the  World,"  Carpenter's  "Geo- 
graphical Readers,"  "The  World  and  Its  People,"  the 
"Youth's  Companion  Series  of  Geographical  Readings." 
The  same  thing  can  be  done  in  the  history  class.  This 
reading,  instead  of  injuring  the  work  in  geography  and 
history,  actually  strengthens  it.  The  opening  exercises  can 
include  some  reading,  possibly  in  the  nature  of  current  events 
or  nature  study. 

The  pupils  of  a  room  can  be  divided  into  groups  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  greater  opportunity  for  individual 
oral  reading.  Two  or  three  times  a  week  twenty  or  thirty 
minutes  can  be  taken.  At  the  signal  the  pupils  gather  in 
groups  in  the  assigned  parts  of  the  room.  Let  us  describe 
such  an  exercise.  Group  A,  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
room,  are  seated  on  the  recitation  seat  and  two  of  the  front 


ASSIGNMENT   OF  LESSON  105 

seats.  There  are  ten  pupils  in  this  group.  To-day  five  of 
them  will  read  about  five  minutes  each  from  Gould's  ''Mother 
Nature's  Children."  In  the  northwest  comer  by  the  organ 
are  gathered  eight  children.  They  are  reading  ''Five  Little 
Peppers."  They  are  interested.  The  hum  of  the  other 
groups  disturbs  them  not  at  all.  The  teacher  passing  from 
one  group  to  another  as  she  sees  fit,  does  not  find  it  necessary 
to  withdraw  any  child  from  this  group  on  account  of  mis- 
behavior. That  group  just  back  of  the  center  of  the  room, 
the  pupils  sitting  two  in  a  seat,  is  reading  Coffin's  "Drum- 
beat of  the  Nation,"  while  that  group  in  the  extreme  rear  of 
the  room  is  reading  "Viking  Tales."  By  such  a  plan,  each 
pupil  receives  four  times  as  much  practice  in  oral  reading 
as  he  otherwise  would  receive.  Just  a  caution  or  two.  The 
books  or  selections  must  be  interesting  and  easy.  The 
periods  must  be  frequent  enough  to  maintain  interest.  The 
teacher  must  watch  order  carefully,  persistently,  and  unob- 
trusively. 

An  alternating  program  can  be  used  with  advantage. 
Let  one  day  of  the  week  be  set  apart  for  the  regular  reading 
exercises,  using  the  standard  material  of  the  grade.  One 
day  can  be  used  for  sight  reading,  the  study  time  to  be  spent 
in  composition,  or  drawing,  or  both,  as  suggested  in  the 
chapter  on  the  Classification  of  Material.  One  day  can  be 
used  for  the  study  of  difficult  material,  with  class  discussion 
of  the  contents  and  meaning,  and  with  the  oral  reading  of 
such  passages  as  may  seem  best.  One  day  can  be  used  for 
individual  reading,  when  two  or  more  pupils  read  lessons 
which  they  alone  have  studied,  or  when  they  recite  memo- 
rized selections  or  tell  stories.  One  day  can  be  used  for 
the  study  of  longer  selections  of  minor  value,  to  be  given  in 
substance  only.  This  program  affords  variety  and  brings  to 
the  pupils  in  turn  each  motive  that  can  be  used  to  increase 


io6  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

the  interest  or  stimulate  the  effort  in  reading,  both  silent 
and  oral. 

OUTLINE   OF  CHAPTER  IX 

DIVISION  OF  A  READING  RECITATION  AND 
ASSIGNMENT  OF  LESSON 
Division. 

Time  apportioned  to  each  division. 
Selection  of  lesson. 

Suited  to  purpose  of  teacher. 

Suited  to  pupils. 
Length  of  lesson. 

Suited  to  purpose  and  pupils. 
Development  of  new  words  and  ideas. 

Value  of  the  dictionary. 

The  teacher's  duty. 

Illustrative  lesson. 
Word  content. 

Emotional  words. 

The  teacher's  duty. 
Assigned  work. 

Model  assignment. 

Time  and  character  of  the  supplementary  reading. 

Grouping  pupils  for  oral  supplementary  reading. 

Alternating  program. 

FOR  REVIEW  AND  SUGGESTION 

1 .  What  points  should  be  covered  in  a  recitation  in  reading  ? 

2.  When  should  articulation  drill  be  given? 

3.  How  much  can  we  omit  the  testing  to  find  out  if  the  directions 
have  been  followed? 

4.  What  would  be  the  result  if  this  part  of  the  recitation  were 
habitually  sUghted  ? 

5.  Why  not  combine  articulation  drill  and  oral  reading? 

6.  How  would  you  divide  a  twenty-minute  recitation  period  ? ' 

7.  How  can  supplementary  reading  be  done  in  other  classes? 

8.  Of  what  importance  is  the  assignment  of  the  lesson  ? 

9.  What  points  should  be  covered  in  the  assignment  of  the  lesson? 


ASSIGNMENT  OF  LESSON  107 

10.  What  proportion   of    the   children     should    be   supplied  with 
dictionaries  ? 

11.  Can  less  than  the  right  number  be  used  to  advantage ?     How? 

12.  What  is  the  best  dictionary  for  each  grade? 

13.  'Can  a  pupil  use  a  word  correctly  in  a  sentence  and  be  ignorant  of 
its  meaning  ? 

14.  Can  a  pupil  give  a  correct  definition   of  a  word   and  still  be 
ignorant  of  its  meaning  ? 

15.  What  function  in  literature  do  words  have  beyond  designating 
the  actions,  objects  and  attributes? 

16.  What  kind  of  words  can  be  called  experimental  words? 

17.  How  can  the    child's   responsiveness   to   emotional   words  be 
increased  ? 

18.  Of  what  value  is  supplementary  reading? 

19.  How  many  supplementary  readers  of  the  same  kind  should  the 
teacher  have  ? 

20.  How    can    there  be  supplementary    reading    without  supple- 
mentary readers? 

21.  What  is  the  element  gained  in  supplementary  reading  that  is 
missed  in  ordinary  reading  ? 


CHAPTER  X 
CLASSIFICATION  OF  MATERIAL 

Most  reading  books  contain  four  distinct  kinds  of 
material  which  should  be  separated  and  used  by  the 
teacher  to  serve  the  ends  for  which  they  are  best 
adapted.  Each  is  valuable  in  its  place.  All  are  necessary 
to  a  well-balanced  course  of  instruction  in  reading.  If  they 
are  not  found  in  the  texts  used  by  the  class,  they  should  be 
supplied  from  other  sources.  The  fault  so  often  existing 
is  due  to  the  effort  of  the  teacher  to  use  all  classes  of  material 
in  the  same  way. 

The  first  class  consists  of  the  selections  that  are  well 
suited  to  the  pupils  in  degree  of  difficulty  and  that  are 
intrinsically  worthy  to  be  studied  thoroughly.  These 
should  constitute  the  greater  part  of  the  reading  book  and 
the  presence  of  a  good  proportion  of  this  class  of  material  is 
the  distinguishing  mark  of  a  good  standard  reader. 

In  order  to  be  suited  in  degree  of  difficulty,  the  subject-mat- 
ter should  be  within  the  understanding  and  experience 
of  those  who  are  to  read  it,  and  the  language  should  be  within 
or  but  slightly  beyond  the  vocabulary  of  the  class.  This  kind 
of  material  is  primarily  for  oral  reading,  and  it  should  not 
contain  too  many  difficulties,  otherwise  it  will  lead  to  dis- 
couragement. There  should  be  but  few  unfamiliar  words, 
and  these  should  be  explained  and  pronounced  before  the 
recitation  begins,  or  before  the  paragraph  is  read  aloud,  so 
that  the  pupil  will  be  able  to  use  them  unconsciously  in  giving 
expression  to  the  thought.  The  presence  of  a  single  formi- 
dable word  in  a  sentence  will  draw  to  it  the  thought  of  the  timid 

io8 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  MATERIAL  109 

reader,  and  will  conceal  the  meaning  of  the  sentence.  The 
pupil  cannot  consciously  do  two  things  at  the  same  time. 
There  will  not  be  good  oral  reading  unless  the  mechanical 
difl&culties  have  been  reduced  to  such  a  minimum  that  they 
do  not  come  into  consciousness.  The  pupil  should  be  trained 
to  know  when  the  sentence  is  within  his  power,  and  should 
not  attempt  to  read  it  until  it  is.  He  should  ask  questions 
and  not  attempt  the  pronunciation  of  unfamiliar  words  until  he 
is  sure  of  his  grasp,  and  then  should  give  the  sentences  with 
the  expression  of  the  thought  as  the  end  of  his  effort.  A  few 
sentences  read  in  this  way  are  of  more  value  than  many  pages 
that  have  been  merely  pronounced.  It  is  better  still  to  have 
the  selection  so  well  suited  to  the  ability  of  the  class  that  a 
reasonable  amount  of  effort  will  enable  the  pupils  to  get  the 
thought  with  ease  and  express  it  with  accuracy.  It  will  then 
be  read  with  pleasure.  Reading  should  be  pleasurable. 
It  will  be  generally,  if  the  material  is  kept  within  the  interest 
and  the  difficulties  within  the  increasing  power  of  the  pupil. 
The  taste  can  be  regulated  and  the  power  can  be  increased 
but  it  can  be  done  only  by  starting  where  the  pupil  is  and  by 
increasing  the  distance  by  so  small  intervals  that  there  is  no 
time  a  severing  of  the  connection. 

To  be  intrinsically  worthy  of  being  studied  thor- 
oughly, the  subject  matter  should  be  such  as  will  interest 
the  class.  It  must  be  attractive.  Without  this  element 
there  will  not  be  that  spontaneous  mental  activity  that  is 
essential  to  the  most  valuable  form  of  attention.  It  need 
not  appeal  to  the  adult  mind,  nor  to  more  mature  children, 
but  it  must  attract  the  child  who  is  to  study  it.  It  is  a  serious 
error  to  suppose  that  everything  good  and  attractive  will 
interest  all  ages  and  all  conditions.  Even  more  than  adults, 
children  demand  something  new  and  interesting.  They 
insist  upon  a  fair  return.     The  effort  will  be  made    gladly 


no  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

and,  for  a  short  time,  intensely,  provided  they  realize  a  product 
that  repays  in  satisfaction  or  pleasure.  But  it  is  not  suffi- 
cient that  the  subject  matter  be  attractive.  The  most  inju- 
rious form  of  literature  is  that  which  has  this  sole  merit. 
Reading  matter  vi^hich  is  to  be  studied  carefully  should  be  of 
a  nature  that  will  bring  to  the  reader  a  positive  growth  mor- 
ally or  intellectually.  It  should  deal  with  the  beautiful  and 
the  noble  or  with  related  facts  that  are  of  deep  concern.  The 
mind  of  the  child  should  be  caused  to  dwell  upon  the 
acts  and  lives  of  those  who  evince  a  beautiful  spirit  or  a  char- 
acter of  worth.  The  opposites  of  these  should  be  little  in 
evidence  in  the  reading  matter  of  the  young.  When  present, 
they  should  appear  merely  as  a  foil  for  the  more  valuable 
qualities.  This  does  not  mean  that  every  trait  of  character 
must  be  labeled,  and  that  the  selection  should  close  with  the 
once  familiar,  "Haec  fabula  docet." 

Generally  there  will  be  the  identification  of  the  type  of 
character,  and  the  meaning  of  the  story  will  sink  into  the 
consciousness  of  the  pupil,  if  the  selection  has  been  well  read. 
There  should  be,  however,  exercises  that  will  enable  the  pupil 
to  recognize  the  types  of  character  readily  when  presented 
through  language;  and  to  identify  those  qualities  that  he 
recognizes  unconsciously  in  the  concrete.  Also,  there  should 
be  frequent  attempts  to  give  wording  to  the  meaning  of  a 
selection  as  a  whole.  An  important  end  of  all  education 
is  character  building,  and  there  is  no  medium  more  favor- 
able for  this  than  the  subject  of  reading.  It  is  through  the 
reading-matter  of  the  first  and  second  classes,  as  suggested 
in  this  chapter,  that  most  of  this  character  training  will  be 
effected;  so  this  should  be  the  subject  of  the  most  serious 
consideration  on  the  part  of  teachers  and  parents. 

The  second  class  consists  of  the  few  selections  that 
will  bear  reading  again  and  again.    They  are  the  highest 


CLASSIFICATION  OF   MATERIAL  in 

type  of  literature  suited  to  the  age  and  development  of  the 
pupil.  They  are  the  selections  that  grow  upon  the  pupil 
with  each  hearing  or  perusal.  The  better  they  are  known, 
the  more  they  are  enjoyed.  They  are  the  ones  that  pupils 
call  for  repeatedly  when  given  a  choice.  They  should  be 
read  as  often  as  the  interest  will  warrant.  The  pupils  should 
be  encouraged  to  tell  them  to  the  class  as  stories.  They  should 
be  dramatized  and  presented  in  this  form  whenever  they  are 
suited  to  such  treatment,  thus  causing  them  to  enter  the 
experience  of  the  child  through  appeal  to  his  dramatic  in- 
stincts. After  their  meaning  is  well  developed  many  of  them, 
especially  the  poems,  should  be  memorized  as  standards  of 
literary  form  and  as  types  expressing  feelings  and  emotions 
common  to  all. 

The  third  class  of  literature  is  that  which  should  not 
have  close  study,  but  which  will  repay  being  read  once 
for  general  information  or  because  of  some  special  feature 
of  the  selection.  This  corresponds  to  the  great  mass  of  reading 
matter  that  will  come  to  the  eye  of  the  pupil  throughout  life 
and  some  inteUigent  direction  in  this  connection  is  of  the 
utmost  value.  Much  time  is  wasted  because  pupils  do  not 
learn  to  discriminate  in  values,  but  give  to  unimportant  mat- 
ters the  same  time  and  effort  that  is  required  for  subjects  of 
serious  concern.  It  is  as  important  that  they  learn  how  to 
obtain  easily  and  quickly  the  substance  of  materials  of  minor 
value,  as  that  they  be  able  to  master  the  contents  of  more 
worthy  selections.  The  habits  formed  in  school  should  be 
such  as  are  valuable  later  in  life.  Pupils  should  learn  to 
scan  a  page  rapidly,  obtaining  a  correct  impression  of  the 
whole,  at  the  same  time  having  the  ability  to  give  discriminative 
attention  to  the  important  parts.  Much  material  should  be 
studied  by  giving  the  class  a  limited  time  to  read  a  definite 
part  of  a  selection,  and  then  calling  for  a  statement  of  what 


112  ESSENTIALS    OF   READING 

has  been  read.  Pupils  should  be  required  to  give  the  sub- 
stance of  the  passage,  the  use  of  the  exact  language  not  being 
encouraged.  The  class  criticism  should  be  directed  to  show- 
ing wherein  the  pupil  has  obtained  quickly  and  stated  briefly 
the  substance,  or  wherein  he  has  failed  in  the  subordination 
of  parts.  The  effort  should  be  to  reduce  the  time  necessary 
for  accomplishing  the  end.  This  power  acquired  in  school 
will  serve  the  pupils  well  by  enabling  them  to  become  widely- 
read,  well-informed  men  and  women,  keeping  in  touch  with 
the  press  and  with  current  literature  without  feeling  it  a  bur- 
den, after  reaching  the  busy  years  of  active  life.  It  will  spare 
them  the  laborious  word-by-word  reading  of  matter  of  minor 
importance,  and  yet  will  make  them  sure  that  they  have  not 
failed  to  see  all  that  is  of  real  concern. 

Mr.  Frank  McMurry  is  authority  for  the  statement  that 
school  children,  even  in  the  best  schools,  do  not  possess  initia- 
tive in  study.  He  conducted  a  series  of  experiments  in  the 
subject  of  geography.  He  found  that  the  pupils  seemed  to 
lack  a  desire  to  go  ahead  for  their  own  purposes  and  on  their 
own  responsibilities.  They  depend  on  the  teacher.  They 
refer  to  maps  when  told  to  do  so,  look  up  words  when  directed. 
When  not  directed  to  do  anything,  they  do  nothing.  His 
conclusion  is  verified  by  the  investigations  of  others.  This 
condition  is  true  in  the  subject  of  reading,  also.  We  find 
pupils  in  their  silent  readings  stumbling  over  a  string  of  words, 
with  no  desire  to  discover  the  unperceived  thought,  and  with 
little  knowledge  of  how  to  discover  it,  should  they  so  desire. 

It  becomes  the  duty  of  the  teacher  to  train  the  pupils  how 
to  study.  Her  opportunity  to  do  this  is  at  the  recitation  time. 
Hence  some  of  these  periods  should  be  called  study  periods  and 
should  be  given  up  to  studying  with  the  children  with  the  hope 
that  this  study  may  increase  their  power  to  study  alone.  The 
good  teacher  is  one  who  trains  the  pupils  to  do  without  her. 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  MATERIAL  113 

The  books  will  be  kept  open,  the  teacher  will  have  a  para- 
graph read  as  a  unit,  then  sentence  by  sentence.  She  will 
ask  many  questions;  like,  ''Should  we  stop  here  for  thought 
and  discussion?"  "Is  this  thought  important?"  ''What 
is  the  principal  thought  in  this  paragraph ?'*  "What  is  this 
paragraph  about  ?  "  "What  do  we  know  now  that  we  did 
not  know  an  hour  ago?"  "Are  there  any  words  here  whose 
meanings  are  not  clear  to  us?"  She  can  go  farther  than  this. 
She  can  have  the  pupils  make  outlines  of  the  material  studied. 
This  is  an  exercise  in  deciding  upon  the  relative  importance  of 
points.  Two  things  in  which  the  teacher  should  give  training 
are:  first,  the  grouping  of  related  ideas;  second,  the  judging 
of  the  comparative  importance  of  different  ideas.  This  results 
in  the  pupil  having  a  definite  notion  of  the  state  of  his  own 
knowledge.  He  makes  a  conscious  judgment  of  his  attain- 
ment. He  knows  when  he  has  come  to  what  Miss  Arnold  has 
called  the  "don't  know  fine."  He  can  say  to  himself,  "I 
know  this,"  "I  understand  that."  He  is  impelled  to  say 
also  to  himself,  "This  next  thing  I  do  not  understand.  I  will 
now  devote  myself  to  the  mastery  of  it."  Such  a  condition 
is  most  favorable  to  mental  growth  and  thought  glean- 
ing. This  training  can  be  done  in  what  has  been  called  the 
study-recitation.  If  followed  up,  it  will  increase  in  a  remark- 
able degree  the  initiative  and  power  of  the  pupils. 

The  fourth  class  of  material  consists  of  that  which  is 
too  difficult  for  ordinary  class  use.  Often  it  contains 
mechanical  difficulties  that  discourage  the  class.  There  may 
be  too  many  new  words.  The  presence  of  these  is  a  barrier 
to  the  thought.  Even  when  the  thought  is  reached  clearly, 
the  fact  that  the  words  have  not  been  pronounced  often 
enough  to  be  uttered  unconsciously,  causes  the  reader  to  hes- 
itate in  giving  the  passage  orally.  The  overcoming  of  the 
mechanical  difficulties  generally  detracts  from  the  pleasure 


114  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 


of  the  pupil's  effort.  Frequently  the  order  of  words  and  the 
arrangement  of  clauses  are  so  involved  that  the  pupils  find 
it  hard  to  understand  the  meaning.  Sometimes  there  are 
allusions  that  are  not  familiar  and  that  occur  too  seldom  to 
repay  investigation.  The  value  of  an  allusion  depends  upon 
the  immediateness  with  which  it  is  discerned.  Pupils  take 
no  more  pleasure  in  tracing  out  an  obscure  allusion  than  do 
adult  readers.  They  can  be  brought  to  do  some  work  of  this 
kind,  but  the  instances  must  not  be  too  frequent  in  a  pas- 
sage, or  lack  of  interest  will  follow. 

Again,  there  are  selections  that  present  experiences  be- 
yond those  of  childhood,  except  in  extreme,  abnormal  cases. 
Neither  pleasure  nor  profit  comes  from  considering  these 
in  advance  of  their  time.  All  selections  that  are  too  diffi- 
cult, from  whatever  cause,  should  be  used  primarily  for 
study  and  discussion,  having  the  story  told  by  different 
members  of  the  class,  calling  for  the  reading  of  such  parts 
as  may  seem  best,  as  shown  by  the  interest  of  the  class  or 
by  the  desire  of  individuals.  In  this  way,  pupils  who  are 
developed  sufficiently  to  understand  the  selection  will  get 
the  meaning,  while  the  others  will  not  be  burdened  with  the 
attempt  to  realize  that  for  which  their  stage  of  development 
has  not  as  yet  prepared  them. 

Many  readers  contain  much  material  of  the  class  that  is 
too  difficult  for  the  grade  for  which  it  is  intended.  It  is 
valuable  for  silent  reading,  with  discussions  of  the  substance 
of  the  passages.  With  its  use  in  that  way  will  come  the 
ability  to  use  it  for  oral  reading,  also.  But  children  are 
able  to  read  silently  with  pleasure  and  with  more  or  less 
profit  much  matter  that  they  should  not  attempt  to  read 
orally.  That  which  is  to  be  read  aloud,  and  much  that  is 
for  silent  reading,  should  be  read  with  ease,  if  it  is  to  be 
read  with  pleasure.    Teachers  can  verify  this  assertion  by 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  MATERIAL  115 

studying  their  own  reading.  Writers  of  the  cheap,  flashy 
literature  that  is  the  bane  of  boyhood  know  this  principle, 
and  have  written  their  books  on  this  basis.  The  words 
are  familiar  or  are  such  as  catch  the  attention  and  affect  the 
imagination.  The  sentences  are  short,  and  run  with  remark- 
able clearness.  The  paragraphs  are  brief  and  are  arranged 
to  carry  the  eye  from  point  to  point  of  interest.  The  story 
almost  reads  itself.  Add  the  element  of  the  unreal  and  the 
glamour  of  adventure,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  boys  devour 
its  pages.  Teachers  of  reading  could  learn  valuable  lessons 
from  studying  the  elements  that  appeal  to  the  boy  who  is 
absorbed  by  cheap  novels.  It  is  possible  to  use  the  same 
conditions,  supplying  better  ideals  instead  of  the  distorted 
heroism,  and  to  change  the  boy's  tastes  to  appreciate  good 
literature.  All  good  literature  is  not  difficult.  We  must 
make  more  use  of  the  simpler  forms.  The  knowledge  that 
many  children  ''nose  through"  all  grades  of  literature  and 
that  some  of  them  receive  much  benefit  from  these  unguided 
excursions  has  led  to  the  false  notion  that  all  children  should 
be  required  to  take  such  material  entire  and  has  brought 
into  our  readers  selections  that  cannot  be  used  to  advantage, 
except  in  the  way  last  suggested. 

The  fifth  class,  material  for  sight  reading,  is  of  great 
value.  Most  of  the  reading  done  outside  of  the  school- 
room must  be  at  sight,  without  time  or  opportunity  for  study. 
Especially  is  this  true  of  the  reading  of  later  life.  Accord- 
ingly pupils  should  be  trained  to  read  at  sight.  Sight  read- 
ing also  offers  an  excellent  opportunity  for  adding  to  the 
interest  of  the  work  by  the  introduction  of  new  and  attrac- 
tive reading  matter.  The  material  for  sight  reading  should 
be  much  easier  than  the  standard  material  of  the  grade. 
From  the  nature  of  the  use  intended,  it  should  not  be  found 
in  the  regular  reading  book  of  the  class.     It  is  of  the  utmost 


ii6  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

importance  that  it  be  kept  from  the  class  until  it  is  to  be 
read,  otherwise  there  is  no  way  of  preventing  previous  study 
by  the  pupil.  Children  eagerly  devour  everything  in  their 
books  that  looks  at  all  easy  or  interesting.  Much  of  the 
benefit  from  this  kind  of  reading  matter  comes  from  the 
interest  given  to  the  class  work  by  the  element  of  curiosity 
that  is  added  to  the  recitation.  The  new  subject-matter 
secures  and  holds  the  attention. 

From  one  to  three  books  are  enough  for  a  class  in  sight 
reading.  If  more  than  one  book  is  used,  one  can  be  in  the 
hands  of  the  teacher,  though  it  is  better  for  the  teacher  to 
insist  that  the  reading  be  so  well  done  by  the  pupil  that  she 
will  not  need  a  book.  The  very  fact  that  she  has  no  book 
will  enable  her  to  judge  the  exercise  as  it  should  be  judged, 
on  the  basis  of  effective  oral  expression.  Sight  reading  can 
be  given  a  few  minutes  of  the  time  of  each  lesson,  as  sug- 
gested in  the  chapter  on  Conducting  the  Recitation,  or  it  can 
take  the  place  of  the  regular  reading  lesson  one  day  in  the 
week.  The  important  thing  is  that  it  have  a  good  propor- 
tion of  time  regularly,  as  it  will  repay  well  the  time  and  effort 
given  to  it.  If  sight  reading  is  to  take  the  place  of  the  regular 
lesson,  the  study  period  can  be  spent  on  a  list  of  words  on 
the  board,  selected  from  the  lesson.  This  should  include 
all  that  could  give  any  trouble  in  recognition  or  meaning, 
and  they  should  be  made  familiar  by  the  advance  study. 
They  can  be  written  in  sentences,  showing  that  their  mean- 
ing is  understood,  and  they  should  be  pronounced  from  the 
board  until  the  organs  of  speech  become  accustomed  to 
them. 

The  advance  study  can  be  varied  by  having  the  pupils 
write  short  stories,  using  as  the  title  the  subject  of  the 
coming  lesson.  The  list  of  words  should  be  on  the  board,  as 
before,  to  be  pronounced  before  the  study  period  as  well 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  MATERIAL  117 

as  before  the  recitation.  The  pupils  should  be  asked  to  use 
such  of  the  words  as  suggest  themselves  in  the  development 
of  a  story  of  the  given  title.  There  should  be  no  studied 
effort  to  use  all  the  words,  but  they  should  be  used  just  as 
they  occur  naturally  in  such  a  story  as  the  pupil  may  invent 
in  connection  with  the  title  and  with  the  use  of  a  few  of  the 
important  words  of  the  list.  The  fact  that  a  story  is  about 
to  be  read  from  a  book  on  the  same  subject  and  the  novelty 
of  trying  to  parallel  an  unknown  plot  will  kindle  the  imagi- 
nation so  as  to  make  the  exercise  an  excellent  language 
lesson,  and  at  the  same  time  will  arouse  an  interest  in  the 
coming  reading  lesson.  Each  pupil  will  write  better  under 
the  influence  of  the  desire  to  achieve  a  definite  end,  and  will 
also  read  and  listen  better  in  the  desire  to  compare  his  own 
efforts  with  the  production  in  the  published  story.  One 
of  the  stories  written  by  the  children  should  be  read  at  the 
beginning  of  the  recitation.  The  rest  should  be  taken  up  by 
the  teacher,  and  can  be  used  on  subsequent  days  as  the 
teacher  thinks  best,  either  being  read  to  the  class,  exchanged 
and  criticized  by  the  pupils,  or  marked  and  returned  to  the 
writer  as   the  time   and  plan   of  the  teacher    may  warrant. 

To  add  to  the  interest  and  vary  the  work,  the  class  is 
asked  to  plan  the  story  for  oral  presentation.  Part  of  the 
time  for  preparation  is  used  in  drawing  a  picture  to  illustrate 
the  center  of  interest  in  the  story. 

In  conducting  the  recitation  with  sight  material,  a  pupil 
takes  one  of  the  books.  He  looks  at  the  sentence,  hands 
the  book  to  another,  indicating  the  place,  then  gives  the 
sentence.  If  there  is  another  book,  it  is  placed  in  the  hands 
of  a  pupil  in  another  part  of  the  class,  who  gives  the 
second  sentence  similarly.  By  this  time,  the  pupil  receiving 
the  first  book  should  be  ready  with  the  third  sentence,  and 
so  the  story  is  continued  around  the  class. 


ii8  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

The  purpose  in  having  the  pupil  pass  the  book  before 
giving  the  sentences  is  to  compel  him  to  have  the  entire 
thought  in  mind  before  attempting  to  give  it,  and  to  pre- 
vent dwelling  upon  the  words,  one  at  a  time.  It  trains 
him  to  sweep  the  eye  rapidly  along  the  sentence,  and  helps 
him  to  overcome  the  slavish  clinging  to  the  words  with 
his  eye.  As  soon  as  the  pupil  has  become  natural 
and  free  he  should  be  encouraged  to  read  an  entire  paragraph 
before  handing  the  book  to  the  next  pupil.  He  should  be 
brought  back  to  giving  the  single  sentence  without  the  book 
whenever  he  begins  to  depend  too  much  upon  the 
book  or  when  the  presence  of  book  causes  him  to  be 
unnatural.  Faults  in  expression  can  be  overcome  sooner, 
and  more  easily  in  connection  with  sight-reading  than 
in  any  other  way.  In  sight-reading,  as  in  all  oral  read- 
ing, much  depends  upon  the  skill  of  the  teacher  in 
questioning  the  pupil.  If  the  pupil  has  failed  to  grasp 
the  main  idea  in  the  sentence,  a  carefully  planned  question 
will  lead  him  to  see  the  relation  of  the  ideas  involved.  As 
the  sentences  are  short  and  the  words  are  mostly  familiar, 
the  mechanical  difficulties  will  not  hinder  him,  so  the  ex- 
pression will  generally  be  natural.  The  fact  that  no  one 
has  access  to  the  story  but  the  one  reading,  places  on  the 
reader  the  responsibility  for  giving  his  part  so  that  all  can 
get  the  meaning.  If  the  story  is  an  interesting  one,  and  the 
teacher  must  select  one  that  will  be  interesting,  the  other 
pupils  will  insist  that  it  be  given  so  Jhey  can  understand  it. 
The  reader  is  under  the  conditions  that  exist  in  public  speaking 
as  nearly  as  they  can  be  realized  in  connection  with  reading 
in  the  school  room.  The  fact  that  the  story  is  new,  places 
the  class  in  receptive  attitude,  and  brings  to  the  help  of  the 
reader  the  presence  and  inspiration  of  good  listeners.  The 
teacher  should  call  upon  those  listening  to  give  a  sentence 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  MATERIAL  119 

from  time  to  time,  as  a  training  in  following  a  theme  by  ear 
only.  This  is  a  training  perhaps  equal  in  value  to  the 
ability  to  receive  the  message  through  the  eye.  At  the  con- 
clusion or  on  the  following  day,  the  class  should  be  required 
to  reproduce  the  story  without  reference  to  the  book. 

Sight  reading  has  the  advantage  that  several  classes 
can  be  combined  in  the  exercise.  Thus  time  can  be  saved  for 
other  subjects  that  are  so  often  crowded  out,  or  given  too 
little  time  in  the  program.  This  can  be  done  with  no  detri- 
ment to  the  work  in  reading,  as  the  larger  class  is  often  an 
advantage  to  the  reading  exercise  from  the  fact  that  it  affords 
an  audience.  The  one  danger  to  be  avoided  is  that  of  using 
material  that  is  marked  as  designed  for  a  class  younger  than 
the  one  that^s  to  read  it.  Pupils  do  not  object  to  reading 
easy  stories,  providing  their  pride  is  not  hurt  by  the  name 
applied  to  the  book.  A  pupil  who  would  be  indignant  at 
being  asked  to  read  in  a  second  reader  would  read  with  pleasure 
an  interesting  story  of  the  same  grade  if  there  was  nothing 
about  it  to  designate  where  it  belonged.  Stories  can  be  cut 
out  of  papers  and  magazines  and  the  paragraphs  pasted  on 
pieces  of  card  board.  These  should  be  distributed  face 
downward,  with  the  numbers  on  the  back.  They  are  not 
to  be  turned  over  until  the  moment  they  are  to  be  read.  In 
this  way,  a  great  amount  of  the  best  material  can  be  obtained 
at  no  expense.  It  is  a  very  convenient  and  satisfactory  way 
of  conducting  the  recitation,  as  it  does  away  with  the  neces- 
sity of  passing  the  book. 

All  the  publishing  houses  have  good  collections  of  supple- 
mentary readers  now,  and  as  so  few  copies  are  needed,  it  is 
possible  with  no  increase  in  the  cost  of  books,  to  have  an 
unlimited  amount  of  the  best  material,  thus  enlarging  greatly 
the  range  of  the  pupil's  reading,  with  the  added  increase  in 
interest  in  and  appreciation  of  good  literature. 


I20  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

OUTLINE   OF    CHAPTER  X 
CLASSIFICATION  OF  MATERIAL 
Five  kinds  of  material. 
First  class. 

Average  degree  of  difi&culty. 
Subject  matter. 
Vocabulary. 
Intrinsically  worthy. 
Interesting  to  pupil. 
Valuable  morally  or  intellectually. 
Second  class. 
Highest  grade  of  literature  adapted  to  age  and  development  of  the  class. 
Read  repeatedly. 
Told  in  story  form. 
Dramatized. 
Memorized. 
Third  class. 

For  reading  for  substance  only. 
Training  in  subordination. 
The  study  recitation. 
Fourth  class. 

Too  difficult  for  oral  reading. 
Silent  reading. 
Discussion. 

Oral  reading  of  passages. 
Fifth  class. 
Sight  reading. 
Importance. 

Easier  than  standard  reader. 
Strictly  at  sight. 
Use  of  books. 
Time. 

Preparation. 
Language  Lesson. 
Drawing. 

Conducting  the  recitation. 
Combining  classes. 
Material. 

Papers  and  magazines. 
Books. 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  MATERIAL  121 

FOR  REVIEW  AND  SUGGESTION 

1.  What  four  kinds  of  material  do  most  readers  contain? 

2.  What  is  the  characteristic  of  each  kind? 

3.  What  do  we  mean  by  material  in  degree  of  difl5culty  well  suited 
to  a  class  ? 

4.  What  is  meant  by  having  material  intrinsically  worthy  of  study? 

5.  What  effect  has  the  meeting  of  a  very  hard  word  among  familiar 
words  ? 

6.  Why  not  let  pupils  attempt  to  read  sentences  containing  un- 
familiar words? 

7.  Why  should  the  material  be  interesting  ? 

8.  What  kinds  of  material  do  you  think  is  most  interesting  to  boys  of 
the  intermediate  grades  ?  To  girls  of  the  same  grades  ?  To  boys  of  the 
grammar  grades  ?    To  girls  of  the  same  grades  ? 

9.  What  qualities  should  material  have  besides  attractiveness? 

10.  Name  some  selections  of  the  first  class. 

1 1 .  Should  pupils  be  required  to  commit  selections  ?     Why  ? 

12.  Give  a  list  of  selections  belonging  to  the  second  class.     Why 
should  they  be  memorized  ? 

13.  Is  the  habit  of  reading  a  newspaper  in  three  or  five  minutes  an  un- 
mixed evil? 

14.  Is    Frank     Murry's    statement    correct?     \\Tiat     makes    you 
think  so  ? 

15.  What  is  the  teacher's  duty  in  such  a  case  ? 

16.  How  can  she  perform  it  ? 

17.  How  should  difiicult  selections  be  handled? 

18.  Why  do  boys  like  dime  novels? 

19.  What  should  this  teach  us  ? 

20.  What  kind  of  material  should  be  used  for  sight  reading? 

2 1 .  How  many  copies  of  the  selections  for  sight  reading  are  necessary  ? 

22.  Why  is  it  well  for  the  teacher  to  conduct  the  reading  lesson  with- 
out a  text  in  hand. 

23.  When  all  the  period  is  to  be  given  to  sight  reading,  what  assign- 
ment can  be  made  for  the  study  period  ? 

24.  How  can  reading  and  language  be  correlated? 

25.  How  can  drawing  be  used  to  add  interest  to  the  work  in  reading? 

26.  How  can  an  exercise  in  sight  reading  be  conducted? 

27.  What  purpose  in  having  the  pupil  pass  the  book  before  giving  the 
paragraph  ? 

28.  How  can  classes  be  conbined  for  sight  reading? 

29.  Of  what  value  is  reproduction  in  reading? 


CHAPTER  XI 
OBSTACLES  TO  GOOD  EXPRESSION 

Many  things  that  prevent  pupils  from  acquiring 
good  expression  in  reading  can  be  removed  by  intelli- 
gent work  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  Some  of  the  obstacles 
are  so  simple  and  can  be  controlled  so  easily  that  there  is  no 
excuse  for  their  existence. 

The  "reading  tone"  needs  first  attention.  It  is  that 
painful,  high  monotone,  usually  accompanied  by  an  unvary- 
ing stress  on  each  word  resulting  in  an  absence  of  melody. 
It  is  so  well  known  that  it  needs  no  description.  So  prev- 
alent is  it  that  from  the  time  the  child  first  hears  about  school 
it  has  fixed  in  advance  his  idea  of  what  constitutes  reading. 
Listen  while  little  children,  before  school  age,  "play  school." 
They  talk  naturally  enough  until  called  upon  to  perform  some 
school  exercise,  when  they  assume  at  once  the  "reading 
tone."  This  is  true  not  only  when  they  attempt  to  read, 
but  in  everything  that  is  supposed  to  be  a  formal  recitation. 
It  is  most  marked  in  reading,  and  the  presence  of  a  book  in 
the  child's  hand  completes  the  change,  if  any  thing  was 
needed  to  make  the  attitude  entirely  unnatural.  As  this 
is  before  the  child  has  been  in  school  to  form  any  habits, 
good  or  bad,  it  must  be  due  to  an  indirect  influence  from  the 
school.  The  child  is  doing  its  best  to  attain  its  ideal  of  con- 
ditions that  prevail  in  school,  and  it  does  these  absurd  things 
because  the  atmosphere  of  the  school-room  has  moved  out- 
ward, and  has  established  among  children  generally  the 
idea  that  this  attitude  is  necessary  to  the  school-room,  and 
that  this  strange,  unnatural  process  is  reading. 


OBSTACLES  TO  GOOD  EXPRESSION        123 

It  is  extremely  unfortunate  that  children  should 
enter  school  with  wrong  ideals.  It  is  certainly  not  econ- 
omy of  time  and  effort  to  permit  the  formation  of  any  habit 
or  ideal  that  is  not  to  endure.  Since  this  ideal  is  a  true 
reflection  of  school-room  conditions,  it  must  be  corrected 
there,  if  at  all.  That  it  is  a  reflection  of  the  school-room, 
cannot  be  questioned.  Let  any  one  not  a  teacher  enter  many 
school-rooms,  and  he  will  be  impressed  with  the  unhaturalness 
of  the  manner  of  speech  and  recitation.  Many  teachers  are 
so  accustomed  to  it  that  it  fails  to  attract  attention.  This 
is  the  main  reason  for  the  existence  of  the  reading  tone.  It 
could  be  corrected  in  all  schools  in  a  single  term  if  teachers 
could  but  hear  their  schools  as  others  hear  them,  and  could 
have  their  ears  attuned  to  catch  this  displeasing  sound. 

The  condition  is  most  evident  in  the  reading  lesson. 
It  probably  owes  its  existence  primarily  to  that  subject. 
The  reading  lesson  should  be  the  point  of  first  attack.  It 
will  be  found,  in  varying  degree,  in  all  classes  of  most  schools. 
It  is  most  marked  in  the  primary  classes,  but  is  most  disap- 
pointing in  the  advanced  classes,  where  most  is  expected 
from  the  pupils. 

The  ideal  must  be  changed.  There  must  be  established 
the  conception  that  reading  is  not  something  new  and  strange, 
but  is  the  very  simple  process  of  talking,  with  the  slight  dif- 
ference that  some  one  else  supplies,  through  the  medium  of 
the  written  or  printed  page,  the  thoughts  that  are  to  be  uttered 
by  the  one  talking.  This  is  so  old  and  so  well  known  that 
it  seems  trite,  and  yet  it  is  the  kernel  of  the  whole  matter. 
It  is  accepted  as  a  truth,  but  is  a  truth  for  theory  only,  and 
it  has  not  become  a  working  principle  in  the  every-day  life  of 
the  school-room.  Only  in  exceptional  schools  do  children 
read  as  they  talk,  and  when  they  do,  it  is  because  excep- 
tional teachers  have  caused  them  to  recognize  and  feel  the 


124  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 


real  nature  of  reading.  Once  let  this  idea  be  established  in 
a  school,  and  reading  becomes  a  source  of  unlimited  pleasure 
to  teacher  and  pupil  alike. 

The  book  is  often  an  obstacle.  The  physical  presence  of 
the  book  or  paper  makes  it  difficult  for  the  pupil  to  realize 
that  reading  is  merely  talking  from  the  written  or  printed 
page.  There  is  the  evidence  to  his  senses  that  the  thoughts  are 
not  primarily  his  own,  and  even  when  he  has  made  them  his 
own  in  fact,  the  physical  conditions  keep  calling  him  back  to 
the  foreign  source,  and  rise  as  an  obstacle  to  the  free  utter- 
ance of  the  thoughts.  The  first  lessons  in  reading  are  usually 
given  from  the  board.  As  nearly  all  primary  teachers  are 
careful  to  have  pupils  ''talk  from  the  board,"  there  is  not  so 
much  trouble  here.  On  placing  the  book  in  the  hands  of 
the  pupil,  he  should  be  required  to  read  silently  an  entire 
sentence,  asking  questions  about  words  not  known,  and 
then  to  give  it  without  the  book.  Reading  in  this  natural 
way  with  the  book  in  hand,  is  the  ideal  to  be  attained,  but 
the  book  should  be  removed  whenever  its  presence  causes 
unnaturalness.  The  frequent  request,  "Please  tell  me  that," 
will  serve  to  call  the  pupil  back  to  plain,  natural  talking  at 
every  point  of  departure.  Having  secured  natural  expres- 
sion by  this  request,  the  recitation  should  move  on.  The 
pupil  should  not  be  asked  to  ''read"  the  sentence,  as  if  that 
were  different  from  what  had  just  been  done. 

The  mechanical  difficulties  of  recognizing  the  words 
often  bring  the  pupil  acutely  to  the  consciousness  that 
he  is  not  giving  his  own  thoughts,  but  the  thoughts  of 
another.  So  much  of  an  obstacle  is  this  at  times  that  the 
pupil  fails  to  pass  beyond  the  process  of  the  mere  recognition 
and  repetition  of  a  series  of  words.  The  concentration  of 
attehtion  upon  the  isolated  words  prevents  the  reception 
of  the  thought.    As  no  thought  has  been  received,  none  can 


OBSTACLES  TO  GOOD  EXPRESSION        125 

be  given.  The  remedy  lies  in  reducing  the  mechanical  dif- 
ficulties temporarily  and  in  giving  the  pupil  more  power  in 
surmounting  them  when  they  occur  again.  Often  there  is 
need  of  a  radical  reduction  in  the  degree  of  the  difficulties, 
which  can  be  effected  only  by  using  easier  material.  While 
trying  to  overcome  extreme  faults  in  naturalness,  the  diffi- 
culties should  be  reduced  to  a  minimum  by  using  readers  two 
or  three  years  lower  than  the  normal  reader  of  the  grade. 
Simple  stories  that  have  nothing  about  them  to  indicate  the 
grade  for  which  intended,  are  best  for  this  purpose.  If  the 
subject  matter  is  interesting  and  if  it  is  well-written,  it  can 
hardly  be  too  easy.    Temporarily,  the  easier,  the  better. 

After  placing  the  pupil  in  a  natural  condition  by  reducing 
the  degree  of  the  difficulties,  it  is  equally  important  that  he 
be  given  more  power  to  surmount  difficulties.  This  can 
be  accomplished  by  frequent,  extended,  and  persistent  drill 
in  recognizing  isolated  words  from  board-lists,  by  careful 
work  in  phonetics,  and  by  the  formation  of  the  habit  of  using 
the  dictionary.  Pupils  must  be  taught  how  to  study  a  les- 
son, and  one  of  the  most  important  elements  in  this  study 
is  to  locate  the  words  that  are  obscure  in  meaning  or  uncer- 
tain of  pronunciation  and  to  find  from  the  dictionary  the 
needed  information,  or  to  obtain  the  assistance  from  the 
teacher  at  the  beginning  of  the  recitation.  He  should  learn 
never  to  attempt  to  read  orally  a  sentence  that  does  not  mean 
anything  to  him. 

Frequently  pupils  recognize  words  fairly  well,  but 
fail  to  see  readily  their  relation  in  the  development  of 
the  thought.  This  results  in  as  serious  faults  in  expression 
as  does  the  failure  to  recognize  the  words.  This  condition 
generally  results  from  the  inability  of  the  pupil  to  move  the 
eye  rapidly  along  the  sentence  in  search  of  the  key  to  the 
meaning.     Such  pupils.should  be  encouraged  to  take  in  short 


126  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

sentences  with  a  single  glance,  the  length  to  be  increased 
with  the  increase  in  power. 

The  mental  attitude  of  the  reader  is  often  a  serious 
obstacle  to  good  expression.  Oral  reading  is  an  art  allied 
to  oratory.  It  differs  in  the  source  from  which  the  material 
for  speech  is  obtained.  The  orator  presents  original  thoughts, 
or  at  least  thoughts  that  express  the  personal  attitude  of  the 
speaker.  The  reader  disclaims  personal  responsibility,  but 
endeavors  to  bring  to  the  listener  the  message  of  another. 
The  reader  and  the  orator  are  alike  in  the  source  of  their 
effectiveness.  Both  must  have  a  message,  must  have  ability 
to  give  the  message,  and  must  have  a  listener  in  a  receptive 
attitude  toward  the  message.  The  higher  the  degree  of 
excellence  realized  in  each  of  these  respects,  the  more  effect- 
ive will  be  the  effort  of  either  reader  or  speaker.  Let  any 
one  of  the  elements  be  lacking,  and  the  effect  is  partial  failure. 
Whatever  the  ability  of  the  orator,  there  can  be  no  great  ora- 
tion without  a  great  theme  and  the  presence  of  an  audience 
responsive  to  the  occasion.  The  nearer  we  can  realize  in 
the  school-room  the  interest  of  audience  and  enthusiasm 
of  speaker  the  greater  will  be  our  success  in  teaching  reading. 

The  usual  method  of  conducting  a  reading  recitation 
violates  two  of  the  three  principles  upon  which  oral 
reading  is  dependent.  The  speaker  feels  no  responsibility, 
the  hearers  no  deep  source  of  interest.  It  accomplishes  good 
and  proper  ends  in  teaching  a  careful  analysis  of  the  mate- 
rial of  thought  as  taken  from  written  forms,  and  it  gives  very 
valuable  drill  in  oral  expression.  It  does  not  put  the  reader 
or  the  listener  into  the  mental  attitude  so  necessary  if  the 
higher,  finer  influence  is  to  be  secured.  Both  are  in  equal 
possession  of  the  message,  so  the  reader  does  not  feel  the 
responsibility  for  its  delivery.  The  listener,  having  no  de- 
sire for  a  message  already  known,  assumes  a  critical,  instead 


OBSTACLES  TO  GOOD  EXPRESSION        127 

of  a  receptive,  attitude.  His  sole  interest  in  the  exercise, 
if  there  be  any  interest,  is  to  criticise  the  way  the  recitation 
is  made. 

Many  pupils,  especially  in  the  grammar  grades,  do 
poor  oral  reading  because  of  these  conditions.  The 
greatest  orator  that  ever  graced  a  platform  could  not  main- 
tain himself  with  his  audience  if  each  member  held  in  hand 
a  copy  of  his  address  which  had  previously  received  an  ex- 
haustive study,  and  if  the  attention  was  riveted  on  the  minor, 
unimportant  details;  as,  the  omission,  transposition  and  mis- 
pronunciation of  words,  or  the  bodily  attitude  of  the  speaker. 

Give  the  pupil  the  sense  of  responsibility  for  the 
delivery  to  his  class  of  a  message  that  is  in  his  sole 
possession.  Let  it  be  a  message  that  has  intrinsic  value,  so 
that  the  class  readily  desires  to  receive  it.  Give  him  suffi- 
cient time  for  preparation  so  that  he  can  feel  on  sure  ground, 
and  he  will  not  fail  to  rise  to  the  occasion.  No  matter  if 
he  makes  a  few  mistakes,  he  will  receive  more  benefit  from 
such  a  lesson  than  from  a  long  series  of  short,  criticised  reci- 
tations. 

The  books  of  the  teacher  and  most  of  the  class  should 
be  closed  during  the  recitation.  This  will  place  more 
responsibility  on  the  one  reading,  even  in  the  regular  recita- 
tions. It  will  give  in  part  the  conditions  under  which  oral 
reading  should  be  practiced.  All  should  insist  that  the 
exercise  be  read  so  they  can  understand  it  without  the  book 
in  hand. 

The  lack  of  melody  is  often  due  to  the  number  lessons. 
The  condition  cannot  be  corrected  by  attention  to  its  exis- 
tence in  the  reading  lesson  alone.  The  teacher  must  become 
conscious  of  its  presence  in  every  formal  recitation,  and  must 
banish  it  from  every  position  held.  When  pupils  count, 
each  number  of  the    series,  except  the  last,  has  that  high, 


128  ESSENTIALS    OF  READING 

unnatural  tone.  It  is,  "one,  two,  three,  four,  five." 
This  is  similar  to,  "JOHN  is  on  the  gled.'*  Teach 
the  pupils  to  count  in  an  ordinary  tone  of  voice,  giving 
each  number  of  the  series  the  falling  inflection,  just  as  they 
give  the  last,  and  as  each  would  receive  if  it  stood  alone.  If 
the  knowledge  of  the  other  numbers  in  the  series  prevents 
giving  a  number  the  falling  inflection,  cover  the  others, 
and  the  number  will  be  given  with  perfect  naturalness.  Num- 
bers should  be  added,  subtracted,  multiplied,  and  divided 
with  the  same  nice  discrimination  in  expression.  Let  it  be 
remembered  that  the  digits  as  elements  in  computing  in 
the  fundamental  operations,  have  no  thought  relation.  As 
numbers  they  are  related,  and  this  relationship  should  be 
clearly  shown.  The  recitation  of  the  multiplication  tables, 
instead  of  a  monotonous  chant,  affords  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity for  thought  discrimination.  The  table  of  twos  should 
be  given  as  follows:    Two  times  one  ^re  two. 

Two  times  ™°  are  ^O''^- 
Two  times  ™^^^  are  S'^- 
Two  times  ^°u«  are  ^1™'^- 

Problems  in  analysis  would  be  given  as  follows:     If 

PENCIL  <,<,5ts  PIVE  CENTS,  ^j^^j  ^ju  FOUR  p^^^^^  ^^34, 

If  '^^^^  pencil  costs  ^^^^  cents,  ^°^^  pencils  will  cost  four 
™^s  five  cents,  which  are  ™^nty  ^^^^^ 

Therefore,  if  «'"=  ^^ncil  ^^^^^  five  ^^^^^^    four  p^^^jj^ 

will  cost  ™E-**"  cents. 
twelve  i3  TWO-THIRDS  „f  ^^^at  number  ? 
If  twelve  i3  Two.ty^jg  ^f  ^  number,  "NE.third  of  that 


OBSTACLES  TO  GOOD  EXPRESSION        129 

number  is  one"^^^^  of  twelve,  which  is  ^^^'   if   ^^^  is  ^^^ 
third  of  a  number,  ■'■^^^^"thirds,  or  the  number,  are  three 
™ES  3i^^  ^hich  are  eighteen. 
Therefore,  ^^^^^^  is  two-thirds ^f  eighteen. 

Lists  of  words  have  no  connection  in  thought,  so  each 
word  should  be  pronounced  as  though   it   stood  alone. 

The  faulty  way  in  which  spelling  Hsts  are  pronounced  is  one 
more  influence  tending  to  make  unnaturalness  in  the  school 
room.  Often  each  word  of  the  series  is  given  with  a  pecu- 
liar rising  inflection.  This  is  due  to  the  sense  of  incom- 
pleteness, from  the  knowledge  that  more  words  are  to  follow. 
Usually  it  can  be  corrected  easily  by  covering  the  words 
below  or  following  the  one  to  be  pronounced,  thus  helping 
the  pupil  to  think  of  it  as  independent  of  the  other  words, 
when  the  expression  becomes  natural,  the  word  receiv- 
ing the  faUing  inflection.     If  this  fails,  or  as  a  variation, 

ask    the    pupil,   "Is    the  word ?"   naming  any  word 

of  similar  or  even  opposite  meaning.  This  will  generally 
help  him  to  isolate  the  word  from  the  others  of  the  series. 

Language  exercises  need  special  attention.  Pupils 
should  read  their  own  language  exercises  better  than  any- 
thing else,  for  the  words  are  familiar  and  they  know  the 
thought.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  often  show  no  special 
improvement,  for  they  are  so  influenced  by  the  unconscious 
idea  that  reading  is  a  peculiar  process  that  even  here  it  asserts 
itself  and  the  monotonous  drone  appears. 

All  subjects  of  normal  recitation  should  be  matched 
carefully.  Unnaturalness  can  be  corrected  only  by  atten- 
tion at  every  point  where  it  can  exist. 


I30  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 


OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  XL 
OBSTACLES  TO  GOOD  EXPRESSION 
Obstacles  can  be  removed 
"Reading  tone" 

Acquired  before  entering  school 

Occurs  in  playing  school 

A  reflection  of  school  life 
Wrong  ideals  unfortunate 
Most  in  evidence  in  reading  lesson 
Ideal  must  be  changed 

Reading  not  a  new  process 
Book  an  obstacle 

Remove  temporarily- 
Correct  use  of  book  the  ideal 
Difiiculty  of  words 

Reduce 

Increase  power 
Thought  relations 
Mental  attitude  an  obstacle 

Oral  reading  allied  to  oratory 

Source  of  effectiveness 

Violation  of  principles 

Conditions  explain  poor  reading 

Remedy 

Responsibility 
Most  books  closed 
Number  lessons 

Counting 

Analysis 
Spelhng 
Language 
Other  subjects 

FOR  REVIEW  AND  SUGGESTION 

1.  What  is  the  "reading  tone" ? 

2.  What  causes  it? 

3.  How  can  it  be  overcome  ? 


OBSTACLES  TO   GOOD  EXPRESSION        131 

4.  How  can  the  book  be  an  obstacle  ? 

5.  How  can  this  obstacle  be  overcome  ? 

6.  How  can  the  obstacle  of  too  difficult  words  be  overcome  ? 

7.  How  can  the  difficulty  of  taking  in  the  tHought   by  groups  of 
words  be  overcome? 

8.  What  disadvantage  has  the  usual  method  of   conducting  recita- 
tions? 

9.  How  does  the  art  of  oral  reading  resemble  oratory?    What  differ- 
ence? 

10.  Upon  what  does  the  effectiveness  of  an  oral  reader  depend? 

11.  How  does  it  help  the  pupil   for  him    alone    to    have   the  book 
open? 

12.  What  should  be  the  mental  attitude  of  a  reader? 

13.  WTiat  may  prevent  gaining  this  attitude? 

14.  How  may  the  methods  of  the    number  class  effect  expression  in 
reading  ? 

15.  How  may  they  help  expression  ? 

16.  What  care  is  to  be  exercised  in  pronouncing  lists  of  words? 


CHAPTER   XII 
ILLUSTRATIVE  LESSONS 

There  are  two  familiar  stories  that  are  opposite  types  and 
that  are  excellent  illustrations  of  the  principle  that  emphasis 
is  always  dependent  upon  what  is  known  to  the  one  for  whose 
benefit  the  story  is  being  told.  These  are  "The  House  that 
Jack  Built,"  and  "Chicken  Little." 

The  first  begins,  "This  is  the  house  that  Jack  built. "  The 
word  ^'this"  indicates  that  the  idea  of  ''house"  is  in  conscious- 
ness, made  so  by  a  picture  or  other  visible  presentation.  The 
speaker  is  pointing  at  the  house  or  its  picture,  otherwise  "this" 
could  not  be  the  opening  word.  Evidently  the  purpose  of  the 
sentence  is,  not  to  bring  before  the  reader  the  idea  of  a  house, 
but  to  tell  something  important  about  a  house  already  known. 
To  read  the  sentence,  as  is  so  often  done,  with  the  emphasis 
on  "  house,"  when  it  follows  the  demonstrative  "this"  which 
denotes  presence,  is  to  presume  that  the  hearer  cannot  recognize 
a  house  when  it  is  seen.  Then  the  relative  "that"  indicates 
that  the  restrictive  clause  following  is  of  more  importance  than 
the  antecedent,  as  is  true  of  all  restrictive  clauses.  A  con- 
ception of  the  word  "house"  includes  the  knowledge  that  it 
has  been  built.  So  the  only  important  word  in  the  clause 
is  "Jack."  "This"  is  a  strong  demonstrative  and  is  emphatic 
by  nature.  All  other  words  in  the  sentence  are  unimportant, 
and  must  be  subordinated.  This  subordination  can  be  effected 
most  naturally  by  leaving  them  in  a  lower  plane,  in  pitch,  in 

132 


ILLUSTRiVTIVE  LESSONS  133 

stress,  and  in  the  attitude  of  the  reader  toward  them.  Accoid- 
ingly  the  sentence  should  be  read :  ^^^^  is  the  house  that  J^^^ 
built. 

In  connection  with  the  next  sentence,  there  is,  or  should  be, 
a  picture  of  a  sack  marked  "malt."  The  pupil  will  probably 
not  know  what  the  word  means,  but  this  sentence  as  given 
in  the  story  assumes  that  he  does.  Where  the  story  originated 
the  word  was  well  known.  If  the  purpose  were  to  tell  that  the 
substance  is  malt,  it  would  read,  ''This  is  malt,  which  lay  in 
the  house  that  Jack  built."  The  evident  purpose  of  the 
sentence  is  to  tell  something  about  some  malt  that  is  already  in 
mind.  Again  "this"  is  emphatic  because  it  is  a  strong  demon- 
strative. "Malt"  is  brought  into  consciousness  by  the  picture 
with  its  label.  "The  house  that  Jack  built,"  was  brought  out 
in  the  first  sentence.  Evidently  the  main  idea  is  the  relation 
of  the  "malt"  to  "the  house  that  Jack  built."  It  "lay  in  "or 
"was  in"  the  place  previously  mentioned.  Accordingly  it  should 
be  read : 

^^^^  is  the  malt  that  ^^^  ^^  the  house  that  Jack  built. 
If  the  pupil  is  caused  to  think  especially  of  "this"  and  the 
relation  as  expressed  by  "lay  in,"  he  will  naturally  subordinate 
the  rest  of  the  sentence,  reading  the  words  in  a  smoothly 
connected  monotone,  lower  in  pitch  and  with  less  stress  than 
the  two  important  words.  The  pupils  should  dwell  upon 
the  first  two  sentences  until  they  have  acquired  sufficient  control 
of  their  powers  of  expression  to  give  the  sentences  with  proper 
subordination  of  the  known  to  the  new.  The  first  difi&culty  will 
be  to  secure  such  subordination  in  thought  as  to  cause  the  pupil 
to  have  the  right  mental  attitude  toward  the  different  ideas  in 
the  sentence.  He  must  feel  that  everything  is  unimportant 
but  the  ideas,  "This,"  and  "Jack,"  or  "this"  and  "lay  in." 
When  this  is  accomplished,  the  mechanical  expression  of  this 


134  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 


relation  becomes  comparatively  easy.  It  does  no  good  to  tell 
him  to  emphasize  certain  words,  or  to  have  him  imitate  some 
one  else.  He  must  be  brought  to  understand  that  we  do  not 
care  for  the  rest  of  the  sentence  because  we  already  know 
about  it.    We  want  what  is  new. 

The  next  sentence  is  accompanied  by  a  picture  of  a  rat. 
The  absurdity  of  looking  at  the  picture  and  declaring  it  a  rat 
must  be  evident.  The  purpose  of  the  sentence  is  to  tell  that 
that  particular  rat  ate  the  malt  under  discussion.    It  should 

be  read:—^^^  is  the  rat  that  ^^^  the  malt  that  lay  in  the  house 
that  Jack  built.       The  rest  of  the  story  should    be  read: 

^^^^  is  the  cat  that  caught  ^j^^  ^^^  ^-^sit  ate  the  malt  that 
lay  in  the  house  that  Jack  built. 

™^^  is  the  dog  that  worried  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^ 
that  ate  the  malt  that  lay  in  the  house  that  Jack  built. 

^^^  is  the  cow  with  the  crumpled  horn  that  ^^ssed 
the  dog  that  worried  the  cat  that  caught  the  rat  that  ate  the 
malt  that  lay  in  the  house  that  Jack  built. 

^^^^  is  the  maiden  all  forlorn  that  ^i^^^ed  ^^^  ^^^ 
with  the  crumpled  horn  that  tossed  the  dog  that  worried  the 
cat  that  caught  the  rat  that  ate  the  malt  that  lay  in  the  house 
that  Jack  built. 

^^^  is  the  man  all  tattered  and  torn  that  ^^sed  ^^^q 
maiden  all  forlorn  that  milked  the  cow  with  the  crumpled 
horn  that  tossed  the  dog  that  worried  the  cat  that  caught  the 
rat  that  ate  the  malt  that  lay  in  the  house  that  Jack  built. 

^^^  is  the  priest  all  shaven  and  shorn  that  carried 
the  man  all  tattered  and  torn  that  kissed  the  maiden  all  for- 
lorn that  milked  the  cow  with  the  crumpled  horn  that  tossed 
the  dog  that  worried  the  cat  that  caught  the  rat  that  ate  the 
malt  that  lay  in  the  house  that  Jack  built. 


ILLUSTRATIVE  LESSONS  135 

^^^  is  the  cock  that  crowed  in  the  morn  that  waked 
the  priest  all  shaven  and  shorn  that  married  the  man  all  tat- 
tered and  torn  that  kissed  the  maiden  all  forlorn  that  milked 
the  cow  with  the  crumpled  horn  that  tossed  the  dog  that 
worried  the  cat  that  caught  the  rat  that  ate  the  malt  that  lay 
in  the  house  that  Jack  built. 

■^^^^  is  the  farmer  sowing  his  corn  that  ^^^  the  cock 
that  crowed  in  the  morn  that  waked  the  priest  all  shaven  and 
shorn  that  married  the  man  all  tattered  and  torn  that  kissed 
the  maiden  all  forlorn  that  milked  the  cow  with  the  crumpled 
horn  that  tossed  the  dog  that  worried  the  cat  that  caught  the 
rat  that  ate  the  malt  that  lay  in  the  house  that  Jack  built. 

This  story  could  be  written  so  as  to  change  the  meaning 
and  the  emphasis.  The  antecedent  of  each  clause  could  be 
made  emphatic,  having  each  bring  into  consciousness  the 
idea  of  which  it  is  a  sign.  This  would  be  necesssary  in  the 
absence  of  a  picture  or  other  visible  presentation.  It  would 
read:— Once  there  was  a  ^o^SE  ^j^j^j^  jack  ^^^^^       rj.^^^^ 

was  some  ^^^^'  which  ^^'^  ^^  the  house  that  Jack  built. 
Along  came  a  ^^^'  which  ^^^  the  malt  that  lay  in  the  house 
that  Jack  built.  There  was  a  ^^'^^  which  caught  ^^^ 
rat  that  ate  the  malt  that  lay  in  the  house  that  Jack  built. 

Both  versions  of  the  story  can  be  used  with  advantage,  and 
they  will  be  productive  of  nice  discriminations  by  even  young 
pupils.  They  can  -be  used  profitably  with  all  ages.  Stories 
of  this  type  are  popular  with  young  children.  This  is  probably 
due  to  the  fact  that  new  words  are  serious  obstacles  to  the 
child,  and  the  occurrence  of  the  same  word  again  and  again 
makes  it  pleasing.  It  is  like  happening  upon  an  old  friend, 
whom  he  meets  with  pleasure.  When  he  finds  not  only  the 
same  words,  but  the  same  combinations  of  words  repeated 


136  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

so  often,  he  is  pleased  with  the  consciousness  that  he  can  use  the 
them,  and  use  them  easily.  They  fairly  roll  from  his  tongue. 
Not  only  are  such  stories  popular,  but  they  are  among  the 
most  valuable  exercises  that  can  be  given  to  a  class,  if  read 
correctly.  The  longer  they  grow,  the  more  it  is  impressed 
upon  the  reader  that  the  true  meaning  must  be  shown,  regard- 
less of  the  number  of  words  included.  The  self  control  that 
is  acquired  by  subordinating  nicely  the  long,  involved,  almost 
meaningless  repetitions,  is  of  the  utmost  value.  But  if  they 
are  read  with  no  appreciation  of  the  relative  importance  of  the 
ideas,  they  become  more  jingles,  forming  vicious  habits  in 
thought  getting  and  thought  expressing. 

The  story  of  Chicken  Little  is  under  quite  different  condi- 
tions. There  is  frequent  iteration  of  the  same  ideas,  but  in 
each  instance  the  story  is  new  to  the  listener,  so  it  must  be 
told  in  the  same  way. 

CHICKEN  Little  (i)  was  in  a  garden,  ^^^ere  she  had  ^O 
«IG=T  j^  be,  when  a  ^o^^  leaf  fell  on  (2)  her  ^a"--  away  ^^^ 
ran  in  great  'f ""^i  until  she  met  ^^nny  penny. 

"O,  HENNY  p^j^y^,,  ^1^^  „j^d^  athe  SKY  ;,  FALLING!"    (3) 

"  How  do  you  ^^°^  ■  "  asked  Henny  Penny  (i). 

"  Oh !  I  SAW  it  „itli  my  EYES,  ^^j  J  HEARD  jj  ^jji,  ^y  EARS, 

and  a  ^aRT  ^f  it  ^ell  ^^  ^y  tail,    j  ,^  going  t^TELL,^^ 

KING."    (4) 

"Let  me  go    '*"™  (S)  you, "  said  Henny  Penny.     So  they 
ran  to  I'UCKY  Lucky. 
"DUCKY  Lucky  !"  cried  Henny  Penny,  the  ^^^  is  "alung." 
"How  do  you  ''^°'*^  '  "  asked  Ducky  Lucky, 


ILLUSTRATIVE  LESSONS  137 

"CHICKEN  Littig  TOLD  ^^„ 

"How  do  ™^  (6)  know,  CHICKEN  LITTLE?"    (^) 

"^^•"  answered  Chicken  Little,  "I  ^^^  it  with  my  ^™^' 
I  ™*^  it  with  my  ^*«S'  and  a  ^ ^^^  of  it  fell  on  my  ^'^^■ 

j,^  GOING  t^  TELL  jj^g  KING."      (4) 

"Let  me  go  ^^^^  you",  said  Ducky  Lucky.    So  they  ran 
until  they  came  to  <500Sey  Looggy 
"GOOSEY  Loosey_»  „ied  Du^ty  Lucky,  "the s^^ is ^Ai-i- 

ING." 

"How  do  you  ^°'^'  Ducky  Lucky  ?  » 

"HENNY    p^„„y    TOLD    ^^„ 

"How  do  ^'^  know,  I'ENNY  PENNY?  " 

"CHICKEN  Little  told '"^•"(8) 

"How  do  ™u  know,  CHICKEN  Little?  " 

"oh!    J    SAW    ij^ith    ^y   EYES,a„j  J  HEARD    jj   ^jj^   ^y 

'^*^'  and  a  ""^^^  of  it  fell  on  my  ^'"^^     I'm  ^o'^G  j^  tell 

the  KING." 

"Let  me  go  ^'n:^  you,"  said  Goosey  Loosey.  So  they  ran 
until  they  met  turkey  Lurkey. 
"Turkey  Lur^gy  i  >.   cried   Goosey  Loosey,  "the  ^^  is 

FALUNG." 

"How  do  you  "^O^'  <^0S=^  MOSEY?  • 

"Di'CKY  Lucky  ™i-i'  me." 

"How   do   ^oi^   know,  ■'UCKY  lucky?" 

"=='™^  Penny  told  ''^•"   (8) 


138  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 


"How  do  ^°U  know  HENNY  PENNY?" 

"CHICKEN  Little  told  ''E-" 

"How    do    ™^    know,    CHICKEN   LITTLE?" 

"Oh!    j   saw  it   ^;th   „,y   EYES,   I  HEARD  jj  ^.^^  ^^  EARS, 

and  a  ^ *«T  „f  jj  f^u  ^.^  ^^  tail,    j,^  going  ^^  tell  ^he 

KING. " 

"Let  me  go  ^^^^  you,"  said  Turkey  Lurkey.     So  they  ran 
with  all  their  ™°°^  until  they  met  ^°^^  Loxy. 

"OHi  FOXY  LOXY,"  ^.^j^  Turkey  Lurkey  the  ^^^  is  ^''^^- 

ING." 

"How   do   you  KNOW?"  asked  Foxy  Loxy. 

"c°os=^  Loosey  ™i-°  me." 

"How  do  ^O'' know,  «°°s^^  wosEY?" 

""^CKY  Lucky  told  "^•" 

"How  do  ™^  know,  I'uc^^  "-^CK^" 

"HENNY    PENNY   tjjjj  ME. 


J) 


"How  do  ^O''  know,  H^'^''^  ^^N**^'" 

"CHICKEN  Littleton  '^E" 

"How  do™'' know,  CHICKEN  little?" 

"0=!  I  SAW  it  ^th  my  =^ES,  J  HEARD  it  ^ith  „,y 
^'^s,  and  a  pa'*^  of  it  fell  on  my  ^^^^  I'm  ^oing  to  tell 
the  KiNC-" 

"COME  WITH  ME,"  ^-^  Poxy  Loxy,  "I  will  s=ow  you  the 

^*^  to  the  king." 
So  Chicken  Little,  Henny  Penny,   Ducky  Lucky,  Goosey 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  139 

Loosey,  and  Turkey  Lurkey  (9)  all  ^o^-I-OWED  p^^^  ^oxy, 
just  as  he  ^^^^  them  to  do. 
He  led  them  into  his  ^^^^  and  they  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^^  again. 

NOTES 

(i).  Stress  emphasis  is  closely  related  to  accent.  In  the 
case  of  compound  words  or  of  phrases  equivalent  to  compound 
words,  the  emphasis  follows  the  most  important  part  of  the 
word  or  phrase. 

(2).  A  verb-phrase  compound  of  the  verb  *'fell"  and  the 
preposition  "on.' '    It  is  equivalent  to  '' struck. " 

(3).  (4).  Force  emphasis,  showing  strong  emotion.  Almost 
every  word  is  emphatic. 

(5).  A  verb-phrase  composed  of  the  verb  "go"  and  the 
preposition  "with".  It  is  equivalent  to  the  verb  "accom- 
pany. " 

(6).  Emphasis  of  contrast,  indicated  by  increasing  the 
stress  and  raising  the  pitch,  accompanied  by  a  circumflex  of 
the  voice.  Notice  that  the  ideas  involved  in  the  words  "how" 
and  "know"  have  lost  their  importance.  The  purpose  is  to 
refer  a  topic  under  discussion  to  another  person  present.  The 
main  idea  is  the  contrasting  of  the  sources  of  information. 

(7).  Emphasis  of  direct  address.  The  efifect  of  the  rising 
inflection  on  the  last  word  raises  it,  also,  into  a  position  of 
emphasis. 

(8).     Emphasis  of  contrast. 

(9).  Notice  how  unimportant  all  these  nouns  are.  They 
are  repeated  merely  to  please  the  child  by  referring  to  these 
friends  as  often  as  possible.  The  main  idea  is  the  assertion 
that  they  did  follow,  as  they  were  told  to  do. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  USE  OF  THE  DICTIONARY 

Children  should  be  taught  to  use  the  dictionary  in 
study.  This  training  should  begin  in  the  fourth  grade 
and  should  continue  throughout  the  course.  No  one  ele- 
ment of  instruction  is  more  important  than  this,  as  it  leads 
to  independence  and  cultivates  the  true  spirit  of  investigation. 
The  most  natural  place  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  using 
the  dictionary  is  in  connection  with  reading.  Pupils  should 
study  the  reading  lesson  with  a  dictionary  at  hand,  to  verify 
the  pronunciation  and  the  meaning  of  the  words. 

The  pupils  should  be  provided  with  dictionaries, 
individually,  or  in  small  groups.  A  dictionary  for  every 
pupil  is  the  ideal  condition.  It  is  not  difficult  to  accomplish 
this.  Part  of  the  money  used  for  full  sets  of  supplementary 
readers  can  well  be  used  for  this  purpose,  and  the  work  in 
reading  can  be  as  satisfactorily  done  with  fewer  copies  of  the 
text.  Every  school  should  have  an  unabridged  dictionary 
and  several  abridged  dictionaries,  but  if  there  are  not  funds 
to  provide  both,  it  is  more  helpful  to  have  a  good  supply  of 
the  smaller  works. 

Where  pupils  buy  their  own  books,  it  is  cheaper  and  better 
to  have  them  purchase  a  book  of  the  grade  of  Webster's  High 
School  dictionary  at  first.  This  will  serve  all  purposes  below 
the  high  school.  High  school  pupils  should  have  a  book  of 
the  grade  of  the  Academic  dictionary. 

Districts  that  own  the  dictionaries  will  find  it  cheaper  and 
equally  satisfactory  to  buy  primary  dictionaries  for  the  fourth 
grade,  common  school   dictionaries  for  the  fifth   and  sixth 

140 


USE   OF   THE   DICTIONARY  '141 

grades,  high  school  dictionaries  for  the  seventh  and  eighth 
grades,  and  academic  dictionaries  for  the  high  school. 

When  public  funds  are  not  available,  the  books  should  be 
supplied  by  other  means.  Some  schools  are  accomplishing 
this  by  forming  a  school  sentiment  such  that  the  pupils  buy 
their  own  dictionaries.  In  districts  where  text-books  are  free, 
this  is  an  excellent  plan.  The  very  fact  that  the  dictionary 
is  the  one  book  that  is  owned  by  the  pupil  places  it  in  a  favored 
class  in  importance.  High  school  pupils  who  have  used  a 
book  for  four  years,  will  be  more  liable  to  continue  using  the 
same  book  after  leaving  school.  It  has  become  an  inseparable 
companion  in  study. 

Whatever  dictionary  a  class  is  using,  the  teacher 
should  see  that  the  pupils  are  familiar  with  its  table  of 
contents.  There  are  valuable  purposes  of  each  part  of  the 
dictionaries  mentioned  above,  if  used  in  the  grades  suggested. 
Often  pupils  complete  the  course  of  instruction  with  no 
knowledge  of  the  use  of  a  dictionary  other  than  for  the  pro- 
nunciation and  definition  of  the  words  given  in  the  body  of 
the  book.  These  are  important  uses,  but  a  knowledge  of  these 
purposes  only  does  not  make  the  dictionary  the  tool  that  it  is 
possible  of  becoming  in  the  hands  of  a  trained  student. 

The  key  to  the  symbols  as  given  in  the  guide  to 
pronunciation  should  be  studied  and  memorized.  The 
schools  are  doing  an  excellent  service  in  teaching  phonetics 
in  the  primary  grades  but  it  should  be  continued  in  the  grades 
following.  The  child  in  those  early  years,  when  subjects 
of  interest  are  fewer  and  when  verbal  memory  is  so  active  and 
reliable,  can  memorize  all  the  words  he  has  occasion  to  use. 
If  the  study  of  phonetics  is  to  stop  at  the  end  of  three  years, 
as  is  so  often  the  case,  the  time  and  effort  required  to  secure 
this  knowledge  is  not  warranted  by  the  benefits.  The  system 
of  phonetics  in  the  primary  grades  should  use  the  diacritical 


142  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

marks  employed  by  the  dictionary  that  is  used  in  the  schools, 
and  the  knowledge  acquired  in  the  primary  grades  should  be 
put  into  daily  use  in  the  succeeding  years.  A  very  little  atten- 
tion here,  if  continued,  will  hold  easily  the  great  advantage 
gained. 

If  the  children  have  not  been  taught  phonetics,  the  key  to 
the  symbols  should  be  taken  up  when  the  dictionaries  are  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  class,  and  should  be  studied  indefinitely. 
The  work  should  be  begun  gradually  and  should  be  pursued 
persistently.  The  abiUty  to  indicate  and  express  the  sounds 
as  found  in  accented  syllables  should  be  acquired  first.  The 
sure  and  accurate  use  of  all  sounds  should  be  established  before 
the  pupils  leave  the  grammar  grades.  One  reason  why 
students  do  not  consult  dictionaries  more  of  their  own  initiative 
is  because  unfamiliarity  with  the  symbols  employed  makes  it 
a  process  of  great  effort  with  slight  satisfaction  in  return.  When 
the  pupils,  after  going  to  the  trouble  to  find  a  word,  must 
consult  a  key  or  a  list  of  type-words  to  know  how  to  pronounce 
it,  the  process  is  not  very  satisfactory  and  is  not  conducive  to 
repeating  the  same  effort  at  another  time.  It  is  extremely 
unfortunate  that  the  alphabet  does  not  represent  the  sounds 
of  the  elements,  but  since  it  does  not,  two  sets  of  symbols  must 
be  taught,  or  pupils  will  have  little  independence  in  handling 
new  words.  The  key  to  the  symbols  should  include  the  table 
of  equivalents,  so  as  to  render  it  unnecessary  to  re-write  a  word 
to  indicate  its  pronunciation,  except  in  rare  instances. 

The  study  of  the  alphabet  in  detail  aids  in  correcting 
inaccuracies  in  the  use  of  the  elements  in  types  common 
to  many  words.  A  small  amount  of  effort  here  will  accom- 
plish more  than  much  time  spent  upon  individual  words.  There 
are  common  errors  widely  prevalent  that  are  disclosed  by  this 
means,  and  that  are  not  difficult  of  correction  if  begun  in  the 
earlier  years.    A  systematic  study  of  the  sounds  of  the  letters 


USE   OF   THE   DICTIONARY  143 

as  given  and  illustrated  in  this  part  of  the  guide  is  most  helpful. 
These  sounds  are  best  established  by  means  of  type-words. 

A  study  of  the  vowels  in  detail  brings  to  light  a  few  principles 
common  to  many.  Attention  can  be  called  to  them,  and  they 
can  be  verified  by  having  the  student  examine  lists  of  words. 
Among  these  are  the  following: — 

1.  Long  sounds  of  vowels  occur  only  under  accent. 
As,  ate,  late,  mak-er,  pro-fane;  eat,  me-ter,  re-plete;  ice,  mind, 
mi-ter;  in-vite;  old,  ov-er,  e-mo-tion,  lo-co-mo-tive;  use,  du-ty, 
a-muse.  Some  apparent  exceptions  to  this  are  due  to  the  fact 
that  secondary  accents  are  not  always  marked.  An  effort  to 
pronounce  the  word  will  disclose  the  necessity  of  the  missing 
accent.    Thus,  ad-vo-cate  (v) ,  em-u-late,  re-form,  to  form  a  new. 

2.  Removing  the  accent  from  a  long  vowel  results  in 
a  modified  sound,  indicated  by  the  suspended  bar.  Thus, 
a/e,  sen-ate;  eve,  e-vent;  i-dem,i-de-a;  o-^ate,  o-va-tion;  u-nion, 
u-nite;  hy-drate,  hy-drau-lic.  This  same  sound  occurs  in  many 
French  words  that  have  been  transplanted  into  our  language; 
as,  debris  (da  bre),  cafe  (ca  fa).  These  words  really  have  no 
word  accent,  and  must  be  pronounced  with  a  suspense  of  the 
voice,  as  if  anticipating  another  syllable. 

3.  Short  vowels,  excepting  i  or  y,  can  neither  close 
a  syllable  nor  stand  alone.  Thus,  man-ner,  at-tend;  par- 
i-ty,  guar-an-ty;  er-ror,  a-mend;  in-tel-lect;  un-til;  di-vide; 
a-hil-i-ty;  dog,  oc-cur;  re-com-mit;  un-der,  subscribe. 

4.  Unaccented  <  a  *  standing  alone  or  at  the  end  of  a 
syllable  has  the  <*  short  Italian "  sound,  indicated  by  a 
dot  above  it.  In  speech  this  often  falls  into  the  sound  of  the 
so-called  neutral  vowel.  This  is  one  of  the  most  difl&cult 
characters  in  the  list  of  symbols,  in  as  much  as  it  is  really 
equivalent  to  four  different  sounds,  according  as  it  is  accented  or 
unaccented,  or  as  it  is  followed  by  letters  that  modify  its  sound. 
It  occurs  under  accent  before  sk,  ff,  ft,  th,  ss,  sp,  st,  nee,  nt,  and 


144  ESSENTIALS    OF   READING 

nd.  In  practice  this  is  often  either  sharpened  to  short  a,  or 
is  given  so  broad  a  sound  as  to  result  in  affectation.  The  cor- 
rect sound  can  be  acquired  by  having  the  pupil  take  the  position 
of  the  organs  for  pronouncing  are,  then  raising  the  main  part 
of  the  tongue,  closing  slightly  the  mouth,  and  giving  the 
sound  a  quick  utterance.  If  this  is  begun  in  the  lower 
grades,  it  will  result  in  a  purity  of  speech  tending  to  correct  the 
sharp,  harsh  sounds  so  common  in  connection  with  this 
letter. 

5.  Short  0  under  accent  should  not  degenerate  into 
broad  a.  They  are  correlatives  and  it  is  helpful  to  change 
from  one  to  the  other  in  acquiring  the  correct  sound.  Give  the 
sound  of  a  as  in  all;  open  the  mouth  a  little  more,  and  a  quicker 
utterance  of  the  sound  gives  short  o. 

6.  A  vowel  is  short  before  r  followed  by  a  syllable 
beginning  with  r  or  another  vowel.  Exceptions,  parent, 
parentage,  garish;  changes  made  by  verb  inflection  or  the 
suffix  er;  and  cases  where  an  a  follows  the  sound  of  w.  In  the 
latter  case,  the  sound  of  a  is  equivalent  to  short  o;  as  warrant, 
quarrel. 

Examples,  arrow,  charity,  character,  farrier,  barren,  error, 
sirrah,  orange,  myriad,  syrup. 

A  most  common  error  is  giving  a  in  instances  like  the  fore- 
going the  sound  of  a  as  in  air.  Compare  air  and  arrow,  chair 
and  charity,  fair  and  farrier,  bear  and  barren.  Note  also  sir 
and  sirrah,  orb  and  orange. 

Have  the  pupils  turn  to  the  letter  a  in  the  dictionary  and 
copy,  with  marks,  the  words  that  follow  this  rule.  At  least 
twenty-five  words  beginning  with  ar-  will  be  found,  most  of 
which  are  commonly  mispronounced. 

Over  forty  words  will  be  found  beginning  with  par-  that  are 
commonly  pronounced  incorrectly.  The  list  can  be  extended 
indefinitely  by  finding  other  combinations.     Note  the  difference 


USE   OF  THE   DICTIONARY  145 

in  the  sound  of  the  vowels  in  the  words  Maryy  marry,  and  merry. 
Ordinarily  they  are  given  as  the  same  sound. 

It  is  helpful  to  study  how  the  sound  of  a  vowel  is  affect- 
ed by  a  change  of  accent,  by  changing  its  position  in  the 
syllable,  and  by  the  presence  of  other  letters  in  the  same  or 
in  the  following  syllable.  Below  are  given  lists  of  words 
that  illustrate  the  effect.  The  numbers  refer  to  the  principles 
of  pronunciation  given  before  in  this  chapter. 

bar,  bare,  bear,  bar-on(6),bar-rel  (6),  ba-ri-um  (i),  ba-rom- 

e-ter  (4). 

car,  care,  ca-ret  (i),  car-et  (6),  ca-reer  (4). 

err,  er-ror  (6),  er-u-dite  (6),  e-ra  (i),  e-rupt  (2). 

or,  o-ral  (i),  or-a-tor  (6),  or-ris  (6),  o-ra-tion  (2). 

sir,  sire,  si-ren  (i),  sir-rah  (6),  syr-up  (6). 

Grammar  grade  pupils  will  be  aided  by  a  study  of  the 
more  common  prefixes  and  suflixes.  Definite  lessons  of 
this  nature  will  be  of  great  economy  in  determining  the  meaning 
of  words.  The  knowledge  that  un-  means  not  gives  a  short 
route  to  the  meaning  of  over  one  hundred  words  as  listed  in 
dictionaries  of  the  academic  grade.  The  meaning  of  com-  in 
its  various  assimilated  forms  throws  light  upon  many  words  in 
common  use. 

One  section  contains  rules  for  spelling  certain  classes 
of  words.  A  few  of  these  are  very  valuable,  such  as  the  rule 
for  /  and  /  at  the  end  of  monosyllables,  the  rules  for  deriva- 
tives of  monosyllables,  for  derivatives  of  words  ending  in  e, 
for  derivatives  of  words  ending  in  ie,  for  derivatives  of  words 
ending  in  y,  and  for  the  plural  of  nouns. 

There  is  a  list  of  the  abbreviations  used  in  the 
dictionary.  Many  pupils  have  no  knowledge  of  the  meaning 
of  these  abbreviations.  Unless  they  are  directed  by  the  teacher 
where  to  find  this  information  and  are  required  at  times  to 
turn  to  the  table  and  verify  certain  abbreviations,  they  will 


146  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

pass  over  them  with  indifference,  thus  failing  to  receive  the 
full  meaning  of  words  studied.  No  assistance  is  obtained 
from  examining  the  word  "abandon,"  unless  the  pupil  knows 
the  meaning  of  the  abbreviations  v.,t.,n.,  and  F.  In  determin- 
ing the  meaning  and  the  pronunciation  of  ''contract,"  it  is 
necessary  to  understand  the  abbreviations  v.,  t.,  i.,  a.,  and  n. 

The  systematic  and  helpful  use  of  the  main  part  of 
the  dictionary  is  an  end  to  be  sought.  The  dictionary 
should  be  a  working  tool  to  assist  in  the  study  of  every  lesson. 
Not  only  should  the  teacher  require  an  investigation  of  all 
new  or  unfamiliar  words,  but  the  pupils  should  be  conscious 
of  the  fact  that  a  strange  word  is  a  barrier  to  the  thought  and 
should  investigate  it  of  their  own  initiative.  This  attitude  is 
the  first  characteristic  of  a  good  student. 

Pupils  must  be  taught  how  to  use  the  dictionary. 
The  teacher  should  work  with  them  in  using  it.  She  will  find 
that  many  pupils  do  not  know  how  to  find  words  arranged 
alphabetically.  Some  of  them  do  not  know  the  order  of  the 
letters.  This  is  a  natural  result  of  the  minor  emphasis  given 
to  the  alphabet  by  the  modern  primary  methods.  Even 
when  they  know  the  alphabet,  they  do  not  have  a  definite  idea 
of  the  relative  position  of  the  letters.  They  cannot  tell  promptly 
whether  r  comes  before  or  after  m.  As  an  aid  in  finding  words 
quickly,  ask  the  class  to  turn  to  letter  after  letter  in  different 
parts  of  the  book,  until  they  are  not  only  sure  of  the  relation  of 
the  letters  to  each  other,  but  also  have  a  definite  idea  of  the 
relative  space  occupied  by  each  in  the  dictionary. 

After  pupils  are  ready  in  finding  the  first  letter  of  the 
word,  they  must  still  be  shown  how  to  find  the  exact  posi- 
tion of  the  word.  They  must  learn  that  words  are 
arranged  according  to  the  sequence  of  each  letter  in 
the  word.  If  the  pupil  is  looking  for  frontis- piece,  he 
should   open    the    book    as   near    fr   as    possible.     At  the 


USE  OF  THE  DICTIONARY  147 

top  of  the  page  he  will  look  for  the  words  in  heavy  type 
giving  the  first  and  the  last  word  on  the  page.  He  will  find 
/m,  /re,  jri,  jrou.  On  the  page  beginning  with  frightful  and 
ending  with  frouzy,  he  will  see  that  the  second  column  begins 
with  frol.  The  eye  follows  rapidly  down,  —  from,  fron,  front, 
fronti,  frontis-piece.  He  finds  the  word  divided  into  syllables 
and  accented  with  a  primary  accent  mark.  The  secondary 
accent  on  the  last  syllable  is  not  indicated.  The  last  two 
syllables  are  re-written  and  marked  diacritically.  As  the 
first  syllable  is  not  marked  he  must  look  back  to  where  the 
syllable  front  first  occurs.  Here  it  is  found  marked  frunt.  Now 
returning  to  the  word  and  noticing  the  marks  of  the  two  other 
syllables,  the  whole  is  easily  pronounced. 

It  is  not  a  small  matter  to  be  able  to  find  a  word  in  the  dic- 
tionary. It  really  requires  considerable  thought,  and  skill 
is  acquired  only  as  the  result  of  practice.  Too  many  teachers 
assume  knowledge  and  skill  not  possessed  by  the  average 
pupil.  Time  spent  in  acquiring  facility  in  using  the  dictionary 
will  greatly  increase  the  occasions  when  pupils  will  go  to  it  for 
assistance. 

Pupils  need  to  be  taught  the  meaning  of  the  accents,  both 
primary  and  secondary,  and  should  have  much  drill  in  exer- 
cises including  the  use  of  both  accents. 

The  fact  that  words  have  different  meanings  is  a  source  of 
confusion.  The  pupils  will  need  help  in  determining  mean- 
ings suited  to  particular  instances.  This  aid  can  be  given  by 
working  with  the  pupils  at  first,  and  then  by  assigning  exercises 
that  will  call  for  discrimination  as  to  meanings. 

Most  dictionaries  contain  a  pronouncing  vocabulary  of 
biblical,  classical,  mythological,  historical  and  geographical 
proper  names.  Pupils  should  be  familiar  with  this  section, 
and  should  be  encouraged  to  refer  to  it,  especially  in  connection 
with  the  reading  lesson. 


148  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

The  quotations  of  words,  phrases,  and  proverbs  from  foreign 
languages,  the  list  of  abbreviations  used  in  writing  and  printing, 
and  the  dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  mythology  are  all 
valuable  parts  of  a  dictionary  and  are  liable  to  escape  notice 
unless  pupils  are  required  to  use  them  until  their  location  in 
the  dictionary  is  definitely  known. 

Pupils  trained  to  use  the  dictionary  will  use  other 
reference  books.  The  spirit  of  investigation  so  engendered 
will  result  in  students  not  satisfied  with  surface  meanings. 
The  discriminative  study  of  words  will  pass  over  into  an  inten- 
sive study  of  things.  The  student  that  has  become  conscious 
of  the  line  separating  known  from  the  unknown  will  never 
rest  content  until  he  has  passed  beyond  it,  using  every  available 
means.  This  is  the  highest  kind  of  intellectual  training,  as 
it  results  in  power. 

OUTLINE   OF   CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  USE  OF  THE  DICTIONARY 
In  connection  with  reading. 
Dictionaries  to  be  provideded. 
By  district. 
By  pupils. 
Teach  table  of  contents. 
Key  to  symbols. 
Through  phonetics  in  primary  grades. 
From  dictionary. 
Alphabet  in  detail. 
Long  vowels. 
Modified  long  vowels. 
Short  vowels. 
Unaccented  a. 
Short  o. 

Vowels  before  r. 
Change  of  sound  of  vowels. 
Prefixes  and  suffixes. 
Rules  for  spelling. 


USE   OF  THE   DICTIONARY  149 

Abbreviations  in  dictionary. 

Body  of  dictionary. 
Pupils  must  be  taught. 

Order  of  letters. 

Relative  position. 

Relative  space. 

Exact  place  oi*  words. 

Syllabication. 

Accent. 

Diacritical  marking. 

Meanings. 
Vocabulary  of  proper  names. 

Quotations.  ' 

Abbreviations. 
Dictionary  of  Mythology. 
Influence  on  pupils. 

FOR  REVIEW  AND  SUGGESTION 

1.  When  should  children  begin  to  use  the  dictionary? 

2.  What  dictionaries  should  a  school  have ?     How  many? 

3.  How  can  dictionaries  be  secured? 

4.  What  difference  as  to  the  plan  of  text-book  ownership  in  the  dis- 
trict? 

5 .  Why  should  the  table  of  contents  be  studied  ? 

6.  Why  is  teachings  of  phonetics  important  ? 

7.  Why  should  the  diacritical  marks  be  taught? 

8.  How  important  is  familiarity  with  the  marks  of  pronunciation? 

9.  What  benefit  will  come  to  a  school  from  studying  and  verifying 
the  suggested  rules  for  the  sounds  of  certain  vowels? 

10.  What  is  the  most  valuable  end  to  be  gained  by  teaching  the  use 
of  the  dictionary  ? 

11.  How  would  you  teach  pupils  to  find,  pronounce  and   determine 
the  meaning  of  words? 

12.  What  valuable  indirect  influence  comes  from   the   persistent  use 
of  the  dictionary  ? 


CHAPTER  XIV 
ARTICULATION 

The  Chicago  Tribune  vouches  for  the  truth  of  the  following 
conversation  between  two  girls : 

"  Aincha  hungry  ? ' ' 

"Yeh." 

"So  my.     Lessgoneet." 

"Where?" 

"Sleev  go  one  places  nuthur." 

"So  dy.     Ika  neet  mo  stennyware,  Canchoo?" 

"Yeh.     Gotcher  money?" 

"Yeh.     Gotchoors?" 

"Yeh.     Howbout  place  crosstreet?" 

"Nothing  teet  there.     Lessgurround  corner." 

"Thattledoo  zwell  zennyware.  Mighta  thoughta  that  'tfirst.  Get- 
cherrat?" 

"Ima  gettinit.     Gotcher  money?" 

"Yeh.     Didn'  cheer  me  say  I  haddit?    AUready?" 

"Yeh." 

"Kmon." 

The  conversation  is  not  improbable.  After  a  little  investi- 
gation one  is  ready  to  believe  that  the  incident  is  a  true  one. 
Nearly  every  one  says  "canchoo"  instead  of  "can't  you." 
"Thattledoo' '  is  very  common  for  "that  will  do."  "Hov/dudoo  " 
passes  current  for  "How  do  you  do."  One  frequently  finds 
himself  at  a  loss  to  understand  the  words  of  a  friend  when  he 
has  no  context  upon  which  to  base  a  guess  as  to  the  meaning 
of  his  friend's  vocalization.  This  should  be  an  embarassing 
condition  to  the  friend,  for  there  is  no  more  certain  evidence 
of  culture  than  an  elegant  and  distinct  enunciation. 

A  good  articulation  has  a  commercial  value.    From  a 

ISO 


ARTICULATION  151 


boy's  articulation,  the  prospective  employer  unconsciously 
judges  the  boy's  character.  An  indistinct,  mumbled  sentence 
indicates  to  him  inaccuracy,  carelessness,  or  laziness.  A  dis- 
tinct articulation  indicates  self-control,  energy,  carefulness,  and 
courage. 

It  is  important^  therefore,  that  the  schools  should 
attend  to  articulation.  The  reading  class  is  the  one  to  whose 
share  the  exercise  rightly  belongs.  Time  should  be  taken 
each  day  for  practice.  The  time  should  be  at  the  beginning 
of  the  period,  in  order  that  it  may  not  be  crowded  out.  The 
teacher  should  not  expect  to  attend  to  articulation  during  oral 
reading.  A  pupil  cannot  think  at  the  same  time  of  both  thought 
and  words,  of  both  expression  and  articulation.  The  one 
thing  is  certain  to  injure  the  other.  Sometimes  a  pupil  will 
render  a  sentence  with  good  expression,  and  when  asked  to 
repeat  it  pronouncing  a  certain  word  more  distinctly,  he  will 
give  an  incorrect  or  inane  expression.  The  cause  of  this  is 
that  the  articulation  of  the  word  now  sways  the  mind  of  the 
reader,  not  the  thought  of  the  sentence.  Therefore,  the  drill 
in  articulation  should  be  distinct  from  the  work  in  expression. 
If  the  text  is  used  for  drill,  the  teacher  should  not  ask  for  good 
expression,  while  requiring  good  articulation. 

Articulation  exercises  should  be  systematic.  Those 
sounds  that  are  the  hardest  to  pronounce  distinctly  should  be 
practiced  most.  The  consonant  sounds  will  be  found  the 
most  difficult.  Exercises  are  added  to  this  chapter  on  the  most 
difficult  of  these.  One  exercise  a  day  can  be  placed  on  the 
board,  practiced,  and  copied  into  note  books  for  review.  A 
pupil  who  practices  faithfully  the  few  exercises  given  here  will 
acquire  the  habit  of  careful  articulation.  Have  pupils  drill 
in  concert,  then  individually,  on  both  words  and  sentences. 
Insist  that  the  sounds  be  distinctly  heard.  The  list  of  exer- 
cises can  be  indefinitely  extended.      The  exercise  consisting 


152  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

of  the  many  long  words  is  intended  to  help  overcome  the  habit 
of  omitting  syllables  in  long  words.  We  often  say  "par-tic- 
lar-ly,"  instead  of  "par-tic-u-lar-ly."  For  review  work 
ordinary  text  can  be  used.  Insist  that  every  syllable  and 
every  sound  be  made  distinct. 

Method  of  instruction.  In  giving  a  lesson  it  is  well  for 
the  teacher  to  require  both  concert  and  individual  work.  In 
the  concert  work,  have  all  pronounce  the  words  together, 
urging  force  on  the  desired  sound.  Work  with  them,  urge 
them,  almost  force  them  to  use  energy.  In  the  individual  work 
let  each  pronounce  a  word  or  a  sentence  distinctly.  In  using 
long  words,  take  up  one  word  at  a  time.  Have  it  pronounced 
very  slowly  and  distinctly,  then  more  and  more  rapidly,  see- 
ing to  it  that  each  syllable  is  still  pronounced  distinctly. 
Stand  in  the  corner  of  the  room  farthest  from  the  speaker, 
and  insist  that  every  sound  be  so  pronounced  as  to  make  you 
hear  it.  It  takes  energy  to  make  the  d^s  and  t^s  carry.  See 
to  it  that  the  pupils  place  the  organs  of  speech  correctly,  and 
that  they  stand  or  sit  correctly. 

The  exercises  are  grouped  according  to  the  organs 
principally  used  in  their  formation.  Exercises  i-6 
include  the  labials,  the  sounds  made  principally  with  the  lips. 
See  to  it  that  the  lips  are  active  in  pronouncing  these.  Exer- 
cises 7-15  include  the  dentals,  the  sounds  affected  most  by  the 
teeth.  See  to  it  that  the  lips  do  not  obstruct  these  sounds. 
Draw  them  back  out  of  the  way.  Exercises  16-18  include  the 
palatals,  sounds  affected  most  by  the  palate.  Exercises  19-20  are 
drills  on  the  nasals,  sounds  in  which  part  of  the  sound  is  sent 
through  the  nose.  Exercises  21-22  are  drills  on  the  liquids, 
those  sounds  which  easily  unite  with  other  sounds.  Exercise 
23  is  a  drill  on  the  aspirate  h;  while  24-31  are  drills  on  hard 
combinations.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  a  complete 
drill  in  articulation.    The  sounds  on  which  exercises  are  given 


ARTICULATION 


153 


are  the  ones  most  likely  to  be  given  improperly,  thereby  causing 
indistinct  articulation.  It  would  be  well,  if  we  could  also 
drill  our  pupils  on  vowel  sounds,  thereby  gaining  pure  tones 
in  addition  to  distinctness.  The  point  of  attack,  however, 
in  the  public  schools  is  distinctness.  We  shaU  be  satisfied  if  we 
gain  that.  The  exercises  are  therefore  confined  to  the  con- 
sonants. 


LABIALS 

I.  B 

bear                      bat 

biU 

robber 

rub                       dab 

tub 

button 

brute                    bob 

battle 

hubbub 

A  big  black  bug  bit  a  big 

black  bear. 

Brother  BiU  beat  brother  Ben. 

Bees  build  beautiful  abodes. 

2.  P 

pet                       trip 

repeat 

prepay 

pipe                     pup 

supply 

suppose 

pint                      pmch 

simply 

purpose 

People  partake  plenteously  of  supper. 

The  parson  prays  for  peace. 

Peter  Piper  picked  a  peck  of  pickled  peppers. 


3.  F 

fan  elf 

fin  muff 

fame  scarf 

Finny  fishes  furnish  fine  food. 

Fun  and  frivolity  follow  foolish  fancies. 

French  fried  fritters  fill  folks  full. 


finish 

famish 

profanity 

defame 

twelfth 

folk 

154 


ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 


vine 

love 

4.  V 

knives 

vision 

vim 
hive 

save 
move 

very 
vanish 

revive 
bereave 

His  voice  revived  the  vile  villain. 

The  violent  vandals  vanished. 

The  valiant  victor  saved  the  bereaved  lover. 

5.  M 

man  mum  number  famish 

mule  mill  family  lament 

ham  sum  molest  amble 

The  miserable  mule  moves  mournfully. 
The  nimble  monkey  mixes  the  melons. 
Money  may  make  much  misery. 

6.  W 

wig  went  wraps  wiggle 

wart  wear  wish  western 

bow  woe  wail  wrinkle 

The  wan  widow  wears  worn  wraps. 

William  was  wishing  to  wind  the  clock. 

The  warrant  for  the  wanderers  was  wisely  withheld. 


DENTALS 

7.  T 

tickle 

tattle 

titter 

fit 

mitten 

teeth 

cat  tar 

fat  tread 

boat  tote 

Two  tame  tigers  taught  Timothy  timidity. 

Betty  thought  "Twice  Told  Tales"  thrilling  throughout. 

Ten  troops  went  straight  to  the  fort. 

8.  D 
dent  paid  afraid  bidder 

did  date  demand  slender 

made  bide  deduct  ladder 


ARTICULATION 


155 


singe 

giraffe 

huge 

majestic 

jeUy 

magic 

Daisy  devotedly  dug  dandelions. 
Daniel  did  his  duty  diligently. 
The  road  led  through  the  wood. 

9.  CH 
chair  bench  charm  chisel 

chain  chew  cherry  chicken 

birch  much  flinch  enchant 

Chums  cherish  each  other. 
Chiggers  chew  the  children's  chief  champion. 
The  cheerful  child  chatters  much. 

10.  J  or  G 
just  jerk 

gem  gin 

jewel  gill 

George  Jones  jeers  the  gypsies. 
James  gently  suggests  a  journey. 
A  large  major  unjoints  a  fragile  gymnast. 

II.  S 

sun  slip  mistress  Susan 

hiss  moss  insist  solar 

sat  soup  parson  mistake 

Swan  swam  over  the  sea,  swim,  swan,  swim. 
The  last  fruits  are  the  sweetest. 
Six  misses  sat  beside  the  priest. 

12.  S  or  Z  . 

ease                     buzz  surprise               busy 

zinc                      freeze  expose                 because 

shoes                    tears  husband               amaze 
The  prize  pleased  the  visitors. 
The  reason  for  those  things  is  easy. 
Please  excuse  Susie's  sneeze. 


156 


ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 


13-  SH 
shoe  shed  flesh  shinny 

shake  mush  dash  fashion 

wash  ship  sugar  friendship 

The  shape  of  the  ship  shows  shrewdness. 
She  shook  the  shrieking  shrew  sharply. 
Shall  she  wish  sugar- and  shun  mush  ? 

14.  TH 

path  through  bath  thistle 

both  thick  thrush  thousand 

thrash  think  smith  thrift 

Theophilus  Thistle  thrust  three  thousand  thistles  through  the 
thick  of  his  thumb. 
Thousands  of  thrifty  thrushes  thronged  through  the  thickets. 

15.  TH 

then  that  those  bother 

the  with  other  rather 

scathe  lithe  than  neither 

Neither  of  them  bothers  the  other. 

They  loathe  the  southern  weather. 

A  farthing  withers  in  this  northern  place. 

PALATALS 

16.  K  or€ 
can  milk  rebuke  looking 

kind  drink  acorn  kitten 

cow  frisk  dictate  Yankee 

Kate  kindly  killed  the  kittens. 
The  cat  drank  and  crept  away. 
This  key  can  conquer  creaking  locks. 

17  5 

get  gas  garter  garden 

gift  ghost  muggy  govern 

gum  guide  begin  giggle 


ARTICULATION 


157 


Disguised  guards  gathered  the  guns. 
Gertrude  giggled  and  gasped. 
The  rogue  wriggled  and  got  away. 

18.  Y 
yet  yacht  yeomen 

yield  yeast  youth 

yard  yolk  yelp 

The  yellow  dog  yelps  at  the  yeoman. 
Yesterday's  yield  is  not  yet  in  the  yard. 
The  youth  yells  at  the  yawning  yachtsman. 

NASALS 


yellow 

yesterday 

yiddish 


19.   N 
lantern 

Minnie 

canteen 

niggard 

begin 

tenant 

not  gun 

tin  nine 

Ned  nun 

Names  mean  nothing  if  not  noted. 

Nine  nuns  began  normal  work. 

The  gunner  nicked  the  lantern. 

20.  NG 
ring  song  single 

bang  among  clanging 

fling  throng  singer 

Singing  mingled  with  the  clanging  noise. 
Stinging  bees  are  thronging  among  them. 
Moaning  and  groaning  he  flung  himself  over. 


long  link 

haU  old 

large  mule 

All  listen  to  the  liquid  melody. 

Large  bells  excel  in  loudness. 

Laughter  lasts  longer  than  melancholy 


belong 
hanger 
mangle 


LIQUIDS 

21.  L 

languish 

belate 

expel 

laughter 

liquid 

lily 

iS8 


ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 


22.   R 

rat 

car 

rattle 

rarify 

ring 

bore 

marl 

hurry 

roU 

mire 

heart 

martyr 

Her  remarks  were  ready  and  reproachful. 
The  roar  receded  as  it  rapidly  retired. 
He  hurries  to  resist  the  ravenous  rascals. 
ASPIRATE 
23.  H 
hat  hitch  humble  hubbub 

hem  hard  hushing  handle 

hole  huge  hickory  harm 

He  hesitates  to  hurt  his  hearers. 
Harry  hurries  to  hide  his  history. 
Heavy  hindrances  are  hastily  hustled  hither. 
HARD  COMBINATIONS 

24.  BS 

mobs  tubs  grubs  hubbubs 

rubs  bobs  stubs  imbibes 

tubes  hubs  cabs  describes 

The  cubes  were  made  from  slabs  and  clubs. 
He  daubs  the  orbs  with  paint  from  the  tubes. 
He  stabs  the  leader  of  the  tribes  in  the  ribs. 

25.  DS 

buds  gads  yards  unloads 

lads  hides  beholds  ballads 

loads  dudes  abodes  succeeds 

The  words  of  the  ballads  hides  the  moods. 
He  adds  the  loads  of  beads  to  the  goods. 
One  of  the  lads  grabs  the  swords. 

26.  GS 

dregs  sags  rags  hags 

bags  bogs  rugs  dogs 

kegs  tags  lags  pegs 


ARTICULATION 


159 


The  dregs  of  the  jugs  gags  even  hogs. 

The  bags  contain  frogs'  legs. 

The  fags  bring  the  jugs,  and  arrange  the  figs  and  eggs. 


27.  PS 
maps  pups  glimpse 

tops  ropes  pimips 

laps  scraps  lips 

One  of  the  maps  flaps  against  the  lamps. 
The  man  with  the  caps  reaps  the  crops. 
He  leaps  and  grasps  the  ropes. 

28.  KS  or  X 
box  flax  mixture 

necks  larks  oxen 

lakes  strikes  ducks 

Wrecks  on  the  lakes  vex  the  Mexicans. 
Rex  strikes  the  oxen  on  their  necks. 
The  packs  of  books  go  the  Arctics. 

29.  ST 
must  most  wildest 

cast  dust  request 

rust  roost  warmest 

The  largest  post  made  the  greatest  mast. 
The  wildest  beast  will  fight  the  most. 
He  still  insists  he  sees  the  ghost. 


escapes 
gossips . 
perhaps 


appendix 

lilacs 

attacks 


digest 
insist 
contest 


30.  WH 

what                   whim                 whether 

meanwhile 

when                   which                 whither 

whinny 

why                    wharf                 whisper 

whistle 

Where  are  the  whisperers? 

Why  are  the  wheels  whirling  ? 

Would  you  whistle,  whine,  or  whisper? 

i6o  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 


31.  ZH 

usual 

visual 

measure 

pleasure 

rouge 

azure 

leisure 

delusion 

seizure 

treasure 

diversion 

composure 

Decision,  precision,  and  composure  were  usual  traits. 
The  Hoosiers  in  confusion  destroyed  the  illusion. 
In  conclusion,  the  explosion  was  a  delusion. 

32. 

in  com  plete  al  to  geth  er  con  sci  en  tious 

mis  er  a  ble  af  fee  ta  tion  ex  pe  ri  ence 

con  cep  tion  bois  ter  ous  ly  ex  trav  a  gant 

di  rec  tion  Brit  tan  ni  a  us  u  al  ly 

moun  tain  ous  ge  og  ra  phy  re  frig  er  a  tor 

neg  a  tive  col  lee  tion  im  me  di  ate  ly 

al  ti  tude  com  pli  ca  tion  un  con  di  tion  al 

33- 
The  goods  are  not  at  all  satisfactory. 

The  government  makes  it  obligatory  to  label  oleomargarine. 
Collection  and  direction  need  particular  care. 
Pronounce  carefully  usually  and  immediately. 

34. 

ar  tic  u  la  tion  ca  pit  u  lar  cal  or  if  i  ca  tion 

im  pen  e  tra  ble  cir  cum  nav  i  gate  in  ter  de  pen  den  cy 

par  tic  u  lar  ly  the  o  log  ic  al  e  jac  u  la  to  ry 

al  i  en  ate  in  com  pre  hen  si  ble    gen  er  al  is  simo 

cam  phor  at  ed  a  mal  ga  ma  tion  id  e  o  graph  ic  al  ly 

cal  um  ni  a  tor  cal  is  then  ic  al  ly  in  ex  tri  ca  ble 

35- 
He  spoke  of  it  particularly  and  peremptorily  declared  it  inex- 
plicable. 
The  incomprehensibility  of  the  calumniator  was  impenetrable. 


ARTICULATION  i6i 


He  is  the  generalissimo  of  the  antidisestablishmentarian  amal- 
gamation. 

36- 
The  following  exercises  are  added  for  further  drill. 

1.  His  cry  moved  me.    His  crime  moved  me. 

2.  He  can  pay  nobody.    He  can  pain  nobody. 

3.  The  battle  last  still  night.     The  battle  lasts  till  night. 

4.  The  culprits  ought  to  be  punished. 

5.  The  culprit  sought  to  be  punished. 

6.  He  can  debate  on  either  side  of  the  question. 

7.  He  can  debate  on  neither  side  of  the  question. 

8.  They  never  imagined  such  an  ocean  to  exist. 

9.  They  never  imagined  such  a  notion  to  exist. 

10.  They  discovered  naught  but  wastes  and  deserts. 

11.  They  discovered  naught  but  waste  sand  deserts. 

37- 

1.  The  wild  beasts  straggled  through  the  deepest  shade. 

2.  The  finest  streams  through  the  tangled  forests  strayed. 

3.  The  heights,  depths,  and  breadths  of  the  subject. 

4.  Ice  cream,  not  I  scream;  an  ice-house,  not  a  nice  house. 

5.  Then  rustling,  crackling,  crashing,  thunder  down. 

6.  The  strife  ceaseth,  and  the  good  man  rejoiceth. 

7.  He  was  most  mindful  in  memory  of  that  mysterious 
mummery. 

8.  The  rough  and  rugged  rocks  rear  their  hoary  heads  high 
on  the  heath. 

9.  He  had  great  fear  of  offending  the  frightful  fugitive  in  his 
flight. 

10.  The   vile   vagabond   ventured   to  vilify  the  venerable 
veteran. 

1 1 .  We  wandered  where  the  whirlpool  wends  its  winding  way. 

12.  The  stripling  stranger  strayed  through  the  struggling 
stream. 


i62  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

13.  The  swimming  swan  swiftly  swept  the  swinging  sweep. 
(Swim,  swam,  swum! — well  swum,  swimming  swan!) 

14.  Round  and  round  the  rugged  rocks,  the  ragged  rascals 
ran. 

15.  No  sheet  nor  shroud  enshrined  those  shreds  of  shrivel'd 
clay. 

16.  Sam  Slick  sawed  six  slim,  sleek  saplings  for  sale. 

17.  Six  brave  maids  sat  on  six  broad  beds,  and  braided  broad 
braids. 

18.  Amidst  the  mists  and  coldest  frosts. 
With  barest  wrists  and  stoutest  boasts, 
He  thrusts  his  fists  against  the  posts, 
And  still  insists  he  sees  the  ghosts. 

38. 
ALPHABETICAL  ALLITERATION  AND  ARTICULATION 

Alderman  Affluent  always  adjudicated  with  admirable  ability. 

Brother  Ben  boldly  beat,  battered,  and  bruised  the  British 
with  his  bludgeon. 

Columbus     Capricorn     was     cross,     crabbed,     crooked, 
carbuncled,  and  crusty. 

Deborah  Diligent  danced  delightfully  with  a  droll  and  dex- 
terous drummer. 

Elizabeth   Edmonson   cooked   eleven   eggs  with   excellent 
edibles. 

Frederick   Firebrand   fiercely  fought   a  funny  and   fidgety 
fiddler. 

Gregory  Gobbleum  gaped  and  gabbled  like  a  goose  or  gander. 

Hercules  Hardheart  hit  a  hawk  on  the  head  with  a  hatchet. 

Isaac  Ingham  inhabited  an  inclement  and  isolated  island  in- 
Italy. 

Jemima  Juniper  with  joy  did  jump  a  jig  in  jeopardy. 

Kate  Kirkman  kindly  kissed  her  knowing  kinsman. 


ARTICULATION  163 


Lem  Lawless  was  a  loudly  laughing,  lounging,  long,  lean, 
lank,  lazy  loafer. 

Maximilian  Mettlesome  magnanimously  met  a  mutinous 
mountaineer. 

Nancy  Nimble,  with  a  nice  new  needle,  netted  neat  nets. 

Omar  Overall  ordered  Oliver  OUapod  to  overawe  Owen 
Oldbuck. 

Professor  Punch  and  Paulina  Polk  performed  the  Patagonia 
polka  perfectly. 

Quintuple  Quorum  quickly  questioned  a  queer  and  quizzical 
quidnunc. 

Roderic  Random  ran  a  ridiculous  race  on  the  Richmond 
railroad. 

Sophonisba  Scribblewell  was  superlatively  and  surprisingly 
sentimental. 

Theophilus  Talkative  told  tremendous,  terrible,  terrific,  and 
tragic  tales. 

Ursula  Urgent  uninterruptedly  and  universally  used  an  um- 
brella. 

Valentine  Vortex  victoriously  vanquished  a  vindictive  villager. 

Wilhelmina  Whirligig  warbled  with  winning  and  wonderful 
witchery. 

X-ecrable  X-antippe  x-hibited  x-traordinary  and  x-cessive 
x-citability. 

Young  Yankee,  a  youthful  yeoman,  yawned  at  Yarmouth. 

Zedekiah  Zigzag  was  a  zealous  zoological  zoophite  in  the 
frozen  zone. 


1 64 


ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 


Labials 


OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  XIV 

ARTICULATION 
Importance. 
Duty  of  the  schools. 
Systematic  drill. 
Method  of  instruction 
Exercises. 

i-b 

4-v 
5-m 
6-w 
L7-t 

rs-d 

9-ch 

lO-j 

ii-s 

I2-Z-S 

13-sh 
L 14-th 

[6-k 

[8-y 
519-n 
}  20-ng 
(  21-1 
(  22-r 

Aspirate 23-h 

24-bs 
25-ds 
26-gs 
27-ps 
Hard  Combinations  S  28-ks 
29-st 
30-wh 
31-zh 

32-Long  words. 
33-Sentence  of  long  words. 
34-Long  words. 
35-Sentences  of  long  words. 


Dentals 


Palatals 


Nasals 


Liquids 


ARTICULATION  165 

FOR  REVIEW  AND  SUGGESTION 

1.  Is  the  Chicago  Tribune  example  of  bad  articulation  probable? 

2.  What  is  the  quality  of  the  articulation  of  the  average  person  ? 

3.  Of  what  commercial  value  is  good  articulation? 

4.  Of  what  social  advantage  is  it  ? 

5.  How  does  good  articulation  indicate  character? 

6.  How  does  it  influence  character  ? 

7.  Why  not  require  careful  articulation  in  all  oral  reading? 

8.  Do  children  all  know  how  to  place  the  organs  of  speech  in  pro- 
nouncing words  ? 

9.  What  difficulties  in  articulation  have  children  of  different  nation- 
alities ? 

10.  What  consonant  sounds  are  usually  pronounced  poorly  ? 

11.  What  are  the  most  difficult  to  pronounce? 

12.  Some  sounds  are  easy  to  make,  but  very  hard  to  be  heard  at  any 
distance  ?    What  are  these  sounds  ? 

13.  What  vowel  sounds  ought  to  be  studied  if  time  permits? 

14.  Of  what  value  are  the  long  word  exercises? 


PART  IV 
SELECTIONS  FOR  PRACTICE 


CHAPTER  XV 

DIDACTIC  AND  MORAL 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  TEACHER'S  WORK  AND  THE 

VALUE  OF  PROPER  IDEALS 

Theodore  Roosevelt 

[The  following  selection  is  the  first  part  of  the  address  to  the  National 

Educational  Association  on  July  ph,  1905,  at  Ocean  Grove,  New  Jersey. 

It  is  given  here,  not  only  for  its  literary  value,  btU  also  for  its  peculiar 

importance  to  the  teaching  profession.] 

I  am  particularly  pleased  to  have  the  opportunity  of  addressing 
this  Association  because  in  all  this  democratic  land  there  is  no 
more  genuinely  democratic  body  than  this;  for  here  each  member 
meets  every  other  member  as  his  peer,  without  regard  to  whether 
he  is  president  of  one  of  the  great  universities  or  the  newest  recruit 
to  that  high  and  honorable  profession  which  has  in  its  charge  the 
upbringing  of  the  boys  and  girls  who  in  a  few  short  years  will  them- 
selves be  engaged  in  settling  the  destinies  of  this  nation. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  most  characteristic  work  of 
the  Republic  is  that  done  by  the  teachers;  by  the  teachers,  for 
whatever  our  shortcomings  as  a  nation  may  be  —  and  we  have 
certain  shortcomings  —  we  have  at  least  firmly  grasped  the  fact 
that  we  cannot  do  our  part  in  the  difficult  and  all-important  work 
of  self-government,  that  we  cannot  rule  and  govern  ourselves 
unless  we  approach  the  task  with  developed  minds,  and  with  what 
counts,  for  more  even  than  developed  minds,  with  trained  char- 
acters. 

You  teachers  —  and  it  is  a  mere  truism  to  say  this  —  you 
teachers  make  the  whole  world  your  debtor,  and  of  you  it  can  be 
said,  as  it  can  be  said  of  no  other  profession  save  the  profession 
of  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  themselves;  if  you  teachers  did  not 
do  your  work  well,  this  republic  would  not  outlast  the  span  of  a 
generation. 

169 


I70  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

Moreover,  as  an  incident  to  your  avowed  work,  you  render 
some  well-nigh  unbelievable  services  to  the  country.  For  instance, 
you  render  to  this  republic  the  prime,  the  vital  service  of  amalga- 
mating into  one  homogeneous  body  the  children  alike  of  those 
who  are  bom  here  and  of  those  who  come  here  from  so  many  dif- 
ferent lands  abroad.  You  furnish  a  common  training  and  com- 
mon ideals  for  the  children  of  all  the  mixed  peoples  who  are  here 
being  fused  into  one  nationality.  It  is  in  no  small  degree  due 
to  you,  and  to  your  efforts,  that  we  of  this  great  American  repub- 
lic form  one  people  instead  of  a  group  of  jarring  peoples.  The 
children,  wherever  they  have  been  born,  wherever  their  parents 
have  been  bom,  who  are  educated  in  our  schools  side  by  side  with 
one  another,  will  inevitably  grow  up  having  that  sense  of  mutual 
sympathy  and  mutual  respect  and  understanding  which  is  abso- 
lutely indispensable  for  working  out  the  problems  that  we  as 
citizens  have  before  us. 

And  now  I  wish  to  speak  of  another  service  that  you  render 
which  I  regard  as  inestimable.  In  our  country,  where  altogether 
too  much  prominence  is  given  to  the  mere  possession  of  wealth, 
we  are  under  heavy  obligations  to  a  body  such  as  this  which  sub- 
stitutes for  the  ideal  of  the  mere  accumulation  of  money  the 
infinitely  loftier  non-materialistic  ideal  of  devotion  to  work  worth 
doing  simply  for  that  work's  sake.  I  do  not  in  the  least  under- 
estimate the  need  of  having  material  prosperity  as  the  basis  of 
our  civilization,  but  I  most  earnestly  insist  that,  if  our  civilization 
does  not  build  a  lofty  superstmcture  on  that  basis,  we  can  never 
rank  among  the  really  great  peoples.  We  need  the  material  pros- 
perity as  a  foundation,  but  it  serves  only  as  a  foundation,  and 
woe  to  us  as  a  people  unless  upon  that  foundation  we  build  a 
building  of  use  to  mankind. 

A  certain  amount  of  money  is,  of  course,  a  necessary  thing  — 
a  necessary  thing  as  much  for  the  nation  as  for  the  individual, 
and  there  are  few  movements  in  which  I  more  thoroughly  believe 
than  the  movement  to  secure  better  pay,  better  remuneration  for 
the  teachers.  While  I  hope  for  the  success  of  that  movement, 
it  remains  tme  that  the  service  you  render  is  incalculable  because 


DIDACTIC  AND  MORAL  171 

of  the  very  fact  that  by  your  lives  you  have  shown  that  you  believe 
ideals  to  be  worth  sacrifice,  and  that  you  are  eager  to  do  non- 
remunerative  work  —  non-remunerative  as  judged  by  the  ordinary 
standards  —  provided  only  that  work  is  of  genuine  good  for  your 
fellow  men.  To  furnish  in  your  lives  such  a  realized  high  ideal, 
not  merely  to  speak  about,  but  to  live  up  to,  is  to  do  great  service 
to  the  country.  The  chief  harm  done  by  the  men  of  swollen  for- 
tunes to  the  community  is  not  the  harm  that  the  demagogue  is  apt 
to  depict  as  springing  from  their  actions,  but  the  fact  that  their 
success  sets  up  a  false  standard,  and  so  serves  as  a  bad  example 
for  the  rest  of  us.  If  we  did  not  ourselves  attach  an  exaggerated 
importance  to  the  rich  man  who  is  distinguished  only  by  his  riches, 
this  rich  man  would  have  a  most  insignificant  influence  over  us. 

Now  let  me  keep  your  minds  upon  my  exact  meaning.  I  speak 
of  the  rich  man  who  is  distinguished  only  by  his  riches,  not  of  the 
rich  man  who  uses  his  wealth  aright  as  a  means  to  an  end.  I  ask 
you  to  remember  the  explanation  of  the  parable  of  the  rich  man's 
difficulty  in  finding  entrance  to  heaven.  The  parable  shows  how 
hard  it  shall  be  for  the  rich  man  who  trusteth  in  his  riches.  It 
is  the  rich  man  who  trusteth  in  his  riches  that  I  am  speaking  of, 
not  the  man  who  is  a  first-rate  citizen,  whether  rich  or  poor. 
Although  it  is  eminently  right  to  take  whatever  steps  necessary 
in  order  to  prevent  the  exceptional  members  of  his  class  from  doing 
harm,  it  is  wicked  folly  to  let  ourselves  be  drawn  into  any  attack 
upon  the  man  of  wealth  merely  as  such.  Remember,  you  teach- 
ers, that  it  is  just  as  wicked  to  attack  the  man  of  wealth  as  such 
as  to  attack  the  man  of  poverty  as  such.  Moreover,  such  an 
attack  is  in  itself  an  exceptionally  crooked  and  ugly  tribute  to 
wealth,  and  therefore  the  proof  of  an  exceptionally  crooked  and 
ugly  state  of  mind  in  the  man  making  it.  Venomous  envy  of 
wealth  is  simply  another  form  of  the  spirit  which  in  one  of  its 
manifestations  takes  the  form  of  cringing  servility  toward  wealth, 
and  in  another  the  shape  of  brutal  arrogance  on  the  part  of  cer- 
tain men  of  wealth. 

Each  one  of  these  states  of  mind,  whether  it  be  hatred,  servil- 
ity, or  arrogance,  is  in  reality  closely  akin  to  the  other  two;  for 


172  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

each  of  them  springs  from  a  fantastically  twisted  and  exaggerated 
idea  of  the  importance  of  wealth  as  compared  with  other  things. 
The  man  who  is  rendered  arrogant  by  the  possession  of  wealth  is 
precisely  the  man  who,  if  he  didn't  have  it,  would  hate  with  envious 
jealousy  the  man  who  had  it.  The  man  who  is  roused  to  a  fury 
of  sour  discontent,  of  envy,  because  he  sees  another  man  very  well 
off,  would  with  absolute  certainty  misbehave  himself  if  he  became 
well  off  in  his  turn.  The  clamor  of  the  demagogue  against  wealth, 
the  snobbery  of  the  social  columns  of  the  newspapers  which  deal 
with  the  doings  of  the  wealthy,  and  the  misconduct  of  those  men 
of  wealth  who  act  with  brutal  disregard  of  the  rights  of  others, 
seem  superficially  to  have  no  fundamental  relations;  yet  in  reality 
they  spring  from  shortcomings  which  are  fundamentally  the  same, 
and  one  of  these  shortcomings  is  the  failure  to  have  proper  ideals. 
If  the  community  pays  proper  heed  to  the  right  type  of  ideal,  and 
admires  the  men  most  who  approximate  most  closely  to  that  ideal, 
you  will  not  find  in  it  any  of  these  unhealthy  feelings  toward  wealth. 

The  failure  to  have  the  right  type  of  ideal  must  be  remedied 
in  large  part  by  the  action  of  you  men  and  women  here,  and  your 
tellow-teachers  throughout  this  land.  By  your  lives,  even  more 
than  by  your  teachings,  you  show  that,  while  you  feel,  as  all  of  us 
ought  to  feel,  that  wealth  is  a  good  thing,  you  regard  other  things 
as  still  better.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  for  each  of  us  to  earn 
a  certain  amount  of  money.  It  is  a  man's  first  duty  to  those  depen- 
dent upon  him  to  earn  enough  for  their  support;  but  after  a 
certain  point  has  been  reached,  money-making  can  never  stand  on 
the  same  plane  with  other  and  nobler  forms  of  effort. 

The  roll  of  American  worthies  numbers  men  like  Washington 
and  Lincoln,  Grant  and  Farragut,  Hawthorne  and  Poe,  Fulton 
and  Morse,  St.  Gaudens  and  MacMonnies;  it  numbers  statesmen 
and  soldiers,  artists,  sculptors,  inventors,  explorers,  bridge-builders, 
philanthropists,  moral  leaders  in  great  reforms;  it  numbers  all 
these  and  many  others  like  them;  it  numbers  men  who  have  de- 
served well  in  any  one  of  countless  fields  of  activity;  but  of  rich 
men  it  numbers  only  those  who  have  used  their  riches  aright;  who 
have  treated  wealth,  not  as  an  end,  but  as  a  means;  who  have  shown 


DIDACTIC   AND   MORAL  173 

good  conduct  in  acquiring  it,  and  not  merely  lavish  generosity  in 
disposing  of  it. 

Thrice  fortunate  are  you  to  whom  it  is  given  to  lead  lives  of 
resolute  endeavor  for  the  achievement  of  lofty  ideals,  and  to  instill 
by  living  and  teaching,  those  ideals  into  the  minds  of  the  next  gen- 
eration, who  will,  as  its  boys  and  girls  of  to-day  and  as  men  and 
women  of  to-morrow,  determine  finally  the  position  which  this 
ration  is  to  hold  in  the  history  of  mankind. 

THE  POWER  AND  WORTH  OF  CHARACTER 

William  Jennings  Bryan 
The  graduation  oration  spoken  by  William  Jennings  Bryan  at 
Illinois  College,  Jacksonville,  Illinois,  Thursday,  June  2,  188 1,  is 
at  the  same  time  one  of  his  most  polished  and  most  thoughtful  pro- 
ductions. As  with  the  selection  from  Theodore  RooseveWs  address, 
this  text  contains  thoughts  of  peculiar  value  to  teachers. 

Perhaps  we  could  not  find  better  illustrations  of  the  power  and  worth 
of  character,  than  are  presented  in  the  lives  of  two  of  our  own  country- 
men— names  about  which  cluster  in  most  sacred  nearness  the  affections 
of  the  American  people — honored  dust  over  which  have  fallen  the  truest 
tears  of  sorrow  ever  shed  by  a  nation  for  its  heroes — the  father  and 
savior  of  their  common  country  —  the  one,  the  appointed  guardian  of 
its  birth;  the  other,  the  preserver  of  its  life. 

Both  were  reared  by  the  hand  of  Providence  for  the  work  entrusted 
to  their  care;  both  were  led  by  nature  along  the  rugged  path  of  poverty; 
both  formed  a  character  whose  foundations  were  laid  broad  and  deep 
in  the  purest  truths  of  morality — a  character  which  stood  unshaken 
amid  the  terrors  of  war  and  the  tranquility  of  peace;  a  character  which 
allowed  neither  cowardice  upon  the  battle-field  nor  tyranny  in  the  presi- 
dential chair.  Thus  did  they  win  the  hearts  of  their  countrymen  and 
prepare  for  themselves  a  lasting  place  of  rest  in  the  tender  memories  of 
a  grateful  people. 

History  but  voices  our  own  experience  when  it  awards  to  true  nobility 
of  character  the  highest  place  among  the  enviable  possessions  of  man. 

Nor  is  it  the  gift  of  fortune.  In  this,  at  least,  we  are  not  creatures  of 
circumstances:  talent,  special  genius  may  be  the  gift  of  nature;  position 
in  society,  the  gift  of  birth;  respect  may  be  bought  with  wealth;  but 


174  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

neither  one  nor  all  of  these  can  give  character.  It  is  a  slow  but  sure 
growth  to  which  every  thought  and  action  lends  its  aid.  To  form 
character  is  to  form  grooves  in  which  are  to  flow  the  purposes  of  our 
lives. 

It  is  to  adopt  principles  which  are  to  be  the  measure  of  our  actions, 
the  criteria  of  our  deeds.  This  we  are  doing  each  day,  either  consciously 
or  unconsciously;  there  is  character  formed  by  our  association  with  each 
friend,  by  every  aspiration  of  the  heart,  by  every  object  toward  which 
our  affections  go  out,  yea,  by  every  thought  that  flies  on  its  lightning 
wing  through  the  dark  recesses  of  the  brain. 

It  is  a  law  of  mind  that  it  acts  most  readily  in  familiar  paths,  hence, 
repetition  forms  habit,  and  almost  before  we  are  aware,  we  are  chained 
to  a  certain  routine  of  action  from  which  it  is  difficult  to  free  ourselves. 
We  imitate  that  which  we  admire.  If  we  revel  in  stories  of  blood,  and 
are  pleased  with  the  sight  of  barbaric  cruelty,  we  find  it  easy  to  become 
a  Caligula  or  a  Domitian;  we  picture  to  ourselves  scenes  of  cruelty  in 
which  we  are  actors,  and  soon  await  only  the  opportunity  to  vie  in 
atrocity  with  the  Neroes  of  the  past. 

If  we  delight  in  gossip,  and  are  not  content  unless  each  neighbor  is 
laid  upon  the  dissecting  table,  we  form  a  character  unenviable  indeed, 
and  must  be  willing  to  bear  the  contempt  of  all  the  truly  good,  while 
we  roll  our  bit  of  scandal  as  a  sweet  morsel  under  the  tongues. 

But  if  each  day  we  gather  some  new  truths,  plant  ourselves  more 
firmly  upon  principles  which  are  eternal,  guard  every  thought  and 
action  that  they  may  be  pure,  and  conform  our  lives  more  nearly  to  that 
Perfect  Model,  we  shall  form  a  character  that  will  be  a  fit  background 
on  which  to  paint  the  noblest  deeds  and  grandest  intellectual  and  moral 
achievements;  a  character  that  cannot  be  concealed  but  which  will 
bring  success  in  this  life  and  form  the  best  preparation  for  that  which  is 
beyond. 

The  formation  of  character  is  a  work  which  continues  through  life, 
but  at  no  time  is  it  so  active  as  in  youth  and  early  manhood.  At  this 
time  impressions  are  most  easily  made,  and  mistakes  most  easily  cor- 
rected. It  is  the  season  for  the  sowing  of  the  seed; — the  springtime  of 
life.  There  is  no  complaint  in  the  natural  world  because  each  fruit  and 
herb  brings  forth  after  its  kind;  there  is  no  complaint  if  a  neglected 
seed-time  brings  a  harvest  of  want;  there  is  no  cry  of  injustice  if  thistles 
spring  from  thistle-seed  sown.  As  little  reason  have  we  to  murmur  if  in 
after-life  we  discover  a  character  dwarfed  and  deformed  by  the  evil 
thoughts  and  actions  of  to-day;  as  little  reason  have  we  to  impeach  the 


DIDACTIC  AND   MORAL  175 

wisdom  of  God  if  our  wild  oats,  as  they  are  called  in  paliation,  leave 
scars  upon  our  manhood,  which  years  of  reform  fail  to  wear  away. 

Character  is  the  entity,  the  individuality  of  the  person,  shining  from 
every  window  of  the  soul,  either  as  a  beam  of  purity,  or  as  a  clouded  ray 
that  betrays  the  impurity  within.  The  contest  between  light  and  dark- 
ness, right  and  wrong,  goes  on:  day  by  day,  hour  by  hour,  moment  by 
moment  our  characters  are  being  formed,  and  this  is  the  all-important 
question  which  comes  to  us  in  accents  ever  growing  fainter  as  we  journey 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  "Shall  those  characters  be  good  or  bad?" 


ELEGY  WRITTEN  IN  A  COUNTRY  CHURCHYARD 

Thomas  Gray 
The  curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting  day, 

The  lowing  herd  winds  slowly  o'er  the  lea, 
The  ploughman  homeward  plods  his  weary  way, 

And  leaves  the  world  to  darkness  and  to  me. 

Now  fades  the  glimmering  landscape  on  the  sight, 

And  all  the  air  a  solemn  stillness  holds 
Save  where  the  beetle  wheels  his  droning  flight, 

And  drowsy  tinklings  lull  the  distant  folds. 

Save  that,  from  yonder  ivy-mantled  tower, 
The  moping  owl  does  to  the  moon  complain 

Of  such  as,  wandering  near  her  secret  bower, 
Molest  her  ancient,  solitary  reign. 

Beneath  those  rugged  elms,  that  yew-tree's  shade. 
Where  heaves  the  turf  in  many  a  mouldering  heap, 

Each  in  his  narrow  cell  forever  laid. 

The  rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep. 

The  breezy  call  of  incense-breathing  morn, 

The  swallow  twittering  from  the  straw-built  shed, 

The  cock's  shrill  clarion,  or  the  echoing  horn. 
No  more  shall  rouse  them  from  their  lowly  bed. 

For  them  no  more  the  blazing  hearth  shall  burn. 
Or  busy  housewife  ply  her  evening  care; 

No  children  run  to  lisp  their  sire's  return. 
Or  climb  his  knees,  the  envied  kiss  to  share. 


176  ESSENTIALS  OF   READING 

Oft  did  the  harvest  to  their  sickle  yield, 

Their  furrow  oft  the  stubborn  glebe  has  broke; 

How  jocund  did  they  drive  their  team  afield! 

How  bowed  the  woods  beneath  their  sturdy  stroke! 

Let  not  Ambition  mock  their  useful  toil, 
Their  homely  joys  and  destiny  obscure; 

Nor  Grandeur  hear  with  a  disdainful  smile 
The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor. 

The  boast  of  heraldry,  the  pomp  of  power, 
And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave. 

Await  alike  th'  inevitable  hour: — 

The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave. 

Nor  you,  ye  proud,  impute  to  these  the  fault. 
If  memory  o'er  their  tomb  no  trophies  raise, 

Where  through  the  long-drawn  aisle  and  fretted  vault 
The  pealing  anthem  swells  the  note  of  praise. 

Can  storied  urn  or  animated  bust 

Back  to  its  mansion  call  the  fleeting  breath? 

Can  Honor's  voice  provoke  the  silent  dust, 
Or  Flattery  soothe  the  dull,  cold  ear  of  Death  ? 

Perhaps,  in  this  neglected  spot  is  laid 

Some  heart  once  pregnant  with  celestial  fire; 

Hands  that  the  rod  of  empire  might  have  swayed, 
Or  waked  to  ecstasy  the  living  lyre. 

But  Knowledge  to  their  eyes  her  ample  page, 
Rich  with  the  spoils  of  time,  did  ne'er  unroll; 

Chill  Penury  repressed  their  noble  rage, 
And  froze  the  genial  current  of  the  soul. 

Full  many  a  gem  of 'purest  ray  serene 

The  dark,  unfathomed  caves  of  ocean  bear; 

Full  many  a  flower  is  born  to  blush  unseen, 
And  waste  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air. 

Some  village  Hampden,  that  with  dauntless  breast 
The  little  tyrant  of  his  fields  withstood, 

Some  mute,  inglorious  Milton  here  may  rest; 
Some  Cromwell,  guiltless  of  his  country's  blood. 


DIDACTIC   AND   MORAL  177 

Th'  applause  of  list'ning  senates  to  command, 

The  threats  of  pain  and  ruin  to  despise, 
To  scatter  plenty  o'er  a  smiling  land, 

And  read  their  history  in  a  nation's  eyes. 

Their  lot  forbade;  nor  circumscribed  alone 

Their  growing  virtues,  but  their  crimes  confined; 

Forbade  to  wade  through  slaughter  to  a  throne, 
And  shut  the  gates  of  mercy  on  mankind; 

The  struggling  pangs  of  conscious  truth  to  hide. 

To  quench  the  blushes  of  ingenuous  shame. 
Or  heap  the  shrine  of  luxury  and  pride 

With  incense  kindled  at  the  Muse's  flame. 

Far  from  the  madding  crowd's  ignoble  strife 

Their  sober  wishes  never  learned  to  stray; 
Along  the  cool,  sequestered  vale  of  life 

They  kept  the  noiseless  tenor  of  their  way. 

Yet  e'en  these  bones  from  insult  to  protect, 

Some  frail  memorial  still  erected  nigh, 
With  uncouth  rhymes  and  shapeless  sculpture  decked, 

Implore  the  passing  tribute  of  a  sigh. 

Their  names,  their  years,  spelt  by  th'  unlettered  Muse, 

The  place  of  fame  and  elegy  supply; 
And  many  a  holy  text  around  she  strews, 

That  teach  the  rustic  moraUst  to  die. 

For  who,  to  dumb  forgetfulness  a  prey. 

Their  pleasing,  anxious  being  e'er  resigned, 
Left  the  warm  precincts  of  the  cheerful  day. 

Nor  cast  one  longing,  lingering  look  behind  ? 

On  some  fond  breast  the  parting  soul  relies. 

Some  pious  drops  the  closing  eye  requires; 
E'en  from  the  tomb  the  voice  of  Nature  cries. 

E'en  in  our  ashes  live  their  wonted  fires. 

For  thee,  who,  mindful  of  th'  unhonored  dead, 

Dost  in  these  lines  their  artless  tale  relate. 
If  'chance,  by  lonely  contemplation  led. 

Some  kindred  spirit  shall  inquire  thy  fate, — 


178  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

Haply  some  hoary-headed  swain  may  say, 
"  Oft  have  -we  seen  him  at  the  peep  of  dawn, 

Brushing  with  hasty  steps  the  dews  away, 
To  meet  the  sun  ujx)n  the  upland  lawn. 

There,  at  the  foot  of  yonder  nodding  beech 
That  wreathes  its  old  fantastic  roots  so  high. 

His  listless  length  at  noontide  would  he  stretch. 
And  pore  upon  the  brook  that  babbles  by. 

Hard  by  yon  wood,  now  smiling  as  in  scorn. 
Muttering  his  wayward  fancies,  he  would  rove, 

Now  drooping,  woful-wan,  like  one  forlorn. 

Or  crazed  with  care,  or  crossed  in  hopeless  love. 

One  morn  I  missed  him  on  the  customed  hill. 
Along  the  heath,  and  near  his  favorite  tree; 

Another  came;  nor  yet  beside  the  rill, 

Nor  up  the  lawn,  nor  at  the  wood  was  he; 

The  next,  with  dirges  due,  in  sad  array. 

Slow  through  the  churchway  path  we  saw  him  borne. 

Approach,  and  read  (for  thou  canst  read)  the  lay 
Graved  on  the  stone  beneath  yon  aged  thorn." 

THE  EPITAPH 

Here  rests,  his  head  upon  the  lap  of  Earth, 
A  youth,  to  fortune  and  to  fame  unknown. 

Fair  Science  frowned  not  on  his  humble  birth 
And  Melancholy  marked  him  for  her  own. 

Large  was  his  bounty,  and  his  soul  sincere; 

Heaven  did  a  recompense  as  largely  send: 
He  gave  to  misery,  all  he  had,  a  tear, — 

He  gained  from  Heaven  ('twas  all  he  wished)  a  friend. 

No  farther  seek  his  merits  to  disclose. 

Or  draw  his  frailties  from  their  dread  abode, 

(There  they  alike  in  trembling  hope  repose,) 
The  bosom  of  his  Father  and  his  God. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

ORATORICAL 

GETTYSBURG  ADDRESS 
Abraham  Lincoln 

On  November  19,  1863,  two  orators  met  on  the  memorable  field 
of  Gettysburg.  One  was  gifted  in  oratory^  learned  in  schools  and 
from  books;  the  other  was  skilled  in  the  "witchery  of  speech"  as 
gathered  from  the  river,  the  forest,  and  the  plain.  Both  spoke.  The 
speech  of  one  lies  dumb  and  meaningless,  unread  and  unremem- 
bered,  while  the  speech  of  the  other,  rooted  in  the  memory  of  man 
and  oft  repeated,  will  live  with  the  literature  of  the  race,  growing 
grander  and  sweeter  in  pathos  and  in  beauty  as  the  years  shall 
gather  around  and  about  it.  One  was  a  brain  effort,  the  other  was 
a  heart  effort.  One  spoke  words  that  were  heard,  the  other  words  that 
were  felt.  One  was  art,  the  other  genius.  One  was  Edward  Everett, 
the  gifted  scholar  of  New  England;  the  other  was  Abraham  Lincoln, 
the  gifted  railsplitter  of  the  West. 

Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth  upon  this 
continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  propo- 
sition that  all  men  are  created  equal.  Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great 
civil  war,  testing  whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so 
dedicated,  can  long  endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great  battle-field  of  that 
war.  We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as  a  final  resting 
place  for  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that  nation  might  live.  It 
is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do  this.  But  in  a  larger 
sense,  we  cannot  dedicate,  we  cannot  consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow  this 
ground.  The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have 
consecrated  it  far  above  our  power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will 
little  note,  nor  long  remember  what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget 
what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here 
to  the  unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here  have  thus  far  so 
nobly  advanced. 

179 


i8o  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining 
before  us,  that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to 
that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion;  that  we 
here  highly  resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain;  that  this 
nation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish 
from  the  earth. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
Charles  H.  Fowler 
Probably  the  finest  analysis  of  the  character  of  the  great  Presi- 
dent is  contained  in  the  following  eloquent  words  selected  from  Bishop 
Fowler^ s  lecture  on  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  representative  character  of  his  age.  No 
man  ever  so  fully  embodied  the  purposes,  the  affections,  and  the  power 
of  the  people.  He  came  among  us.  He  was  one  of  us.  His  birth,  his 
education,  his  habits,  his  motives,  his  feelings,  his  ambitions,  were  all 
our  own.  Had  he  been  born  among  hereditary  aristocrats,  he  would 
not  have  been  our  President.  But  born  in  the  cabin  and  reared  in  the 
field  and  in  the  forest,  he  became  the  Great  Commoner.  The  classics 
of  the  schools  might  have  polished  him,  but  they  would  have  separated 
him  from  us.  But  trained  in  the  common  school  of  adversity,  his  cal- 
loused palms  never  slipped  from  the  poor  man's  hand.  A  child  of  the 
people,  he  was  as  accessible  in  the  White  House  as  he  had  been  in  the 
cabin. 

His  practical  wisdom  made  him  the  wonder  of  all  lands.  With  such 
certainty  "did  Lincoln  follow  causes  to  their  ultimate  effects  that  his 
foresight  of  contingencies  seemed  almost  prophetic.  While  we  in  turn 
were  calling  him  weak  and  stubborn  and  blind,  Europe  was  amazed 
at  his  statesmanship  and  awed  into  silence  by  the  grandeur  of  his  plans. 

Measured  by  what  he  did,  Lincoln  is  a  statesman  without  a  peer.  He 
stands  alone  in  the  world.  He  came  to  the  government  by  a  minority 
vote,  without  an  army,  without  a  navy,  without  money,  without  munitions. 
He  stepped  into  the  midst  of  the  most  stupendous,  most  wide-spread, 
most  thoroughly  equipped  and  appointed,  most  deeply  planned  rebellion 
of  all  history.  He  stamped  upon  the  earth,  and  two  millions  of  armed 
men  leaped  forward  to  defend  their  country.  He  spoke  to  the  sea,  and 
the  mightiest  navy  the  world  had  ever  seen,  crowned  every  wave. 

He  is  radiant  with  all  the  great  virtues,  and  his  memory  shall  shed  a 


ORATORICAL  i8i 


glory  upon  this  age  that  shall  fill  the  eyes  of  man  as  they  look  into  history. 
An  administrator,  he  saved  the  nation  in  the  perils  of  unparalleled  civil 
war.  A  statesman,  he  justified  his  measures  by  their  success.  A 
philanthropist,  he  gave  liberty  to  one  race  and  freedom  to  another.  A 
moralist,  he  bowed  from  the  summit  of  human  power  to  the  foot  of  the 
cross  and  became  a  Christian.  A  mediator,  he  exercised  mercy  under 
the  most  absolute  abeyance  to  law.  A  leader,  he  was  no  partisan.  A 
commander  in  a  war  of  the  utmost  carnage,  he  was  unstained  with 
blood.  A  ruler  in  desperate  times,  he  was  untainted  with  crime.  As  a 
man,  he  has  left  no  word  of  passion,  no  thought  of  malice,  no  trick  of 
craft,  no  act  of  jealousy,  no  purpose  of  selfish  ambition.  He  has  adorned 
and  embellished  all  that  is  good  and  all  that  is  great  in  our  humanity, 
and  has  presented  to  all  coming  generations  the  representative  of  the 
divine  idea  of  free  government. 

THE  SOUTHERN  SOLDIER 
Henry  Grady 

You  of  the  North  have  had  drawn  for  you  with  a  master's  hand  the 
picture  of  your  returning  armies.  You  have  heard  how,  in  the  pomp 
and  circumstance  of  war,  they  came  back  to  you,  marching  with  proud 
and  victorious  tread,  reading  their  glory  in  the  nation's  eyes.  Will 
you  bear  with  me  while  I  tell  you  of  another  army  that  sought  its  home 
at  the  close  of  the  late  war  —  an  army  that  marched  home  in  defeat  and 
not  in  victory,  in  pathos  and  not  in  splendor? 

Let  me  picture  to  you  the  footsore  Confederate  soldier,  as,  buttoning 
up  in  his  faded  gray  jacket  the  parole  which  was  the  testimony  to  his 
children  of  his  fidelity  and  faith,  he  turned  his  face  southward  from 
Appomattox  in  April,  1865.  Think  of  him  as  ragged,  half -starved, 
heavy-hearted,  enfeebled  by  want  and  wounds;  having  fought  to  exhaus- 
tion, he  surrenders  his  gun,  wrings  the  hands  of  his  comrades  in  silence, 
and  Ufting  his  tear-stained  and  pallid  face  for  the  last  time  to  the  graves 
that  dot  the  old  Virginia  hills,  pulls  his  gray  cap  over  his  brow  and 
begins  the  slow  and  painful  journey. 

What  does  he  find  —  let  me  ask  you,  who  went  to  your  homes  eager  to 
find,  in  the  welcome  you  had  justly  earned,  full  payment  for  four  years* 
sacrifice  —  what  does  he  find  when  having  followed  the  battle-stained 
cross  against  overwhelming  odds,  dreading  death  not  half  so  much  as 
surrender,  he  reaches  the  home  he  left  so  prosperous  and  beautiful? 

He  finds  his  house  in  ruins,  his  farms  devastated,  his  slaves  free,  his 


i82  ESSENTIALS  OF   READING 

stock  killed,  his  barns  empty,  his  trade  destroyed,  his  money  worthless; 
his  social  system,  feudal  in  its  magnificence,  swept  away;  his  people 
without  law  or  legal  status,  his  comrades  slain,  and  the  burdens  of  others 
heavy  on  his  shoulders. 

Crushed  by  defeat,  his  very  traditions  are  gone;  without  money, 
credit,  employment,  material,  or  training;  and  beside  all  this,  confronted 
with  the  gravest  problem  that  ever  met  human  intelligence — the  estab- 
lishing of  a  status  for  the  vast  body  of  his  Uberated  slaves. 

What  does  he  do — this  hero  in  gray,  with  a  heart  of  gold  ?  Does  he 
sit  down  in  sullenness  and  despair  ?  Not  for  a  day.  Surely  God,  who 
had  stripped  him  in  his  prosperity,  inspired  him  in  his  adversity.  As 
ruin  was  never  so  overwhelming,  never  was  restoration  swifter.  The 
soldier  stepped  from  the  trenches  into  the  furrow;  horses  that  had  charged 
Federal  guns  marched  before  the  plow,  and  fields  that  ran  red  with 
blood  in  April  were  green  with  the  harvest  in  June. 

Never  was  nobler  duty  confided  to  human  hands  than  the  uplifting 
and  upbuilding  of  the  prostrate  and  bleeding  South,  misguided,  perhaps, 
but  beautiful  in  her  suffering.  In  the  record  of  her  social,  industrial, 
and  political  evolution  we  await  with  confidence  the  verdict  of  the  world 


LIBERTY  AND  UNION 
Daniel  Webster 

The  peroration  of  Webster^ s  reply  to  Hayne.  Blaine  says  of 
this  speech,  "It  revolutionized  traditions,  changed  conclusions,  and 
was  like  an  amendment  to  the  constitution.'^ 

I  profess,  sir,  in  my  career  hitherto,  to  have  kept  steadily  in  view  the 
prosperity  and  honor  of  the  whole  country,  and  the  preservation  of  our 
federal  union.  It  is  to  that  union  we  owe  our  safety  at  home,  and  our 
consideration  and  dignity  abroad.  It  is  to  that  union  that  we  are  chiefly 
indebted  for  whatever  makes  us  most  proud  of  our  country.  That  union 
we  reached  only  by  the  discipline  of  our  virtues,  in  the  severe  school  of 
adversity.  It  had  its  origin  in  the  necessities  of  disordered  finance, 
prostrate  commerce,  and  ruined  credit.  Under  its  benign  influences 
these  great  interests  immediately  awoke,  as  from  the  dead,  and  sprang 
forth  with  newness  of  life.  Every  year  of  its  duration  has  teemed  with 
fresh  proofs  of  its  utility  and  its  blessings,  and  although  our  territory 
has  stretched  out  wider  and  wider,  and  our  population  spread  farther  and 


ORATORICAL  183 


farther,  they  have  not  outrun  its  protection  or  its  benefits.  It  has  been 
to  us  all  a  copious  fountain  of  national,  social,  and  personal  happiness. 

I  have  not  allowed  myself,  sir,  to  look  beyond  the  union,  to  see  what 
might  lie  hidden  in  the  dark  recess  behind.  I  have  not  coolly  weighed 
the  chances  of  preserving  liberty  when  the  bonds  that  unite  us  together 
shall  be  broken  asunder.  I  have  not  accustomed  myself  to  hang  over 
the  precipice  of  disunion,  to  see  whether,  with  my  short  sight,  I  can 
fathom  the  depth  of  the  abyss  below;  nor  could  I  regard  him  as  a  safe 
counselor  in  the  affairs  of  this  government  whose  thoughts  should  be 
mainly  bent  on  considering,  not  how  the  union  should  be  best  preserved, 
but  how  tolerable  might  be  the  condition  of  the  people  when  it  shall  be 
broken  up  and  destroyed. 

While  the  union  lasts,  we  have  high,  exciting,  gratifying  prospects 
spread  out  before  us,  for  us  and  our  children.  Beyond  that  I  seek  not  to 
penetrate  the  vail.  God  grant  that  in  my  day,  at  least,  that  curtain  may 
not  rise.  God  grant  that  on  my  vision  never  may  be  opened  what  lies 
behind.  When  my  eyes  shall  be  turned  to  behold,  for  the  last  time, 
the  sun  in  heaven,  may  I  not  see  him  shining  on  the  broken  and  dis- 
honored fragments  of  a  once  glorious  union;  on  states  dissevered,  discor- 
dant, belligerent;  on  a  land  rent  with  civil  feuds,  or  drenched,  it  may  be, 
in  fraternal  blood!  Let  their  last  feeble  and  lingering  glance  rather 
behold  the  gorgeous  ensign  of  the  republic,  now  known  and  honored 
thoughout  the  earth,  still  full  high  advanced,  its  arms  and  trophies 
streaming  in  their  original  luster,  not  a  stripe  erased  or  polluted,  not  a 
single  star  obscured,  bearing  for  its  motto  no  such  miserable  interrogatory 
as — What  is  all  this  worth?  Nor  those  other  words  of  delusion  and 
folly — Liberty  first  and  union  afterwards;  but  everywhere  spread  all 
over  in  characters  of  living  light,  blazing  on  all  its  ample  folds,  as  they 
float  over  the  sea  and  over  the  land,  and  in  every  wind  under  the  whole 
heavens,  that  other  sentiment,  dear  to  every  true  American  heart — 
Liberty  and  union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable! 


CHAPTER  XVII 
DRAMATIC 

LOCHINVAR 
Sir  Walter  Scott 
O,  young  Lochinvar  is  come  out  of  the  west, 
Through  all  the  wide  Border  his  steed  was  the  best, 
And  save  his  good  broadsword  he  weapons  had  none; 
He  rode  all  unarmed,  and  he  rode  all  alone. 
So  faithful  in  love,  and  so  dauntless  in  war. 
There  never  was  knight  like  the  young  Lochinvar. 

He  stayed  not  for  brake,  and  he  stopped  not  for  stone. 

He  swam  the  Eske  river  where  ford  there  was  none; 

But,  ere  he  alighted  at  Netherby  gate, 

The  bride  had  consented,  the  gallant  came  late: 

For  a  laggard  in  love,  and  a  dastard  in  war. 

Was  to  wed  the  fair  Ellen  of  brave  Lochinvar. 

So  boldly  he  entered  the  Netherby  hall. 

Among  bride 's-men  and  kinsmen,  and  brothers  and  all: 

Then  spoke  the  bride's  father,  his  hand  on  his  sword 

(For  the  poor  craven  bridegroom  spoke  never  a  word), 

*'0,  come  ye  in  peace  here,  or  come  ye  in  war, 

Or  to  dance  at  our  bridal,  young  Lord  Lochinvar?" 

"I  long  wooed  your  daughter,  my  suit  you  denied; — 
Love  swells  hke  the  Solway,  but  ebbs  like  its  tide, — 
And  now  I  am  come,  with  this  lost  love  of  mine, 
To  lead  but  one  measure,  drink  one  cup  of  wine. 
There  are  maidens  in  Scotland  more  lovely  by  far. 
That  would  gladly  be  bride  to  the  young  Lochinvar." 

The  bride  kissed  the  goblet;  the  knight  took  it  up, 
He  quaffed  off  the  wine,  and  he  threw  down  the  cup, 
She  looked  down  to  blush,  and  she  looked  up  to  sigh, 
With  a  smile  on  her  lips  and  a  tear  in  her  eye. 

184 


DRAMATIC  185 


He  took  her  soft  hand,  ere  her  mother  could  bar, — 
"Now  tread  we  a  measure!  "  said  young  Lochinvar. 

So  stately  his  form,  and  so  lovely  her  face, 

That  never  a  hall  such  a  galliard  did  grace; 

While  her  mother  did  fret,  and  her  father  did  fume, 

And  the  bridegroom  stood  dangling  his  bonnet  and  plume; 

And  the  bride-maidens  whispered,  "  'Twere  better  by  far 

To  have  matched  our  fair  cousin  with  young  Lochinvar." 

One  touch  to  her  hand,  and  one  word  in  her  ear. 

When  they  reached  the  hall-door,  and  the  charger  stood  near; 

So  light  to  the  croupe  the  fair  lady  he  swung, 

So  Ught  to  the  saddle  before  her  he  sprung! 

"She  is  won!   we  are  gone,  over  bank,  bush,  and  scaur; 

They'll  have  fleet  steeds  that  follow,"  quoth  young  Lochinvar. 

There  was  mounting  'mong  Graemes  of  the  Netherby  clan; 

Forsters,  Fenwicks,  and  Musgraves,  they  rode  and  they  ran: 

There  was  racing,  and  chasing,  on  Cannobie  Lee, 

But  the  lost  bride  of  Netherby  ne'er  did  they  see. 

So  daring  in  love,  and  so  dauntless  in  war, 

Have  ye  e'er  heard  of  gallant  like  young  Lochinvar? 

BARBARA  FRIETCHIE 
John  Greenleaf  Whittier 
Up  from  the  meadows  rich  with  corn, 
Clear  in  the  cool  September  morn, 

The  clustered  spires  of  Frederick  stand 
Green-walled  by  the  hills  of  Maryland. 

Round  about  them  orchards  sweep, 
Apple  and  peach  tree  fruited  deep, 

Fair  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord 

To  the  eyes  of  the  famished  rebel  horde. 

On  that  pleasant  mom  of  the  early  fall 
When  Lee  marched  over  the  mountain-wall; 

Over  the  mountains  winding  down, 
Horse  and  foot,  into  Frederick  town. 


i86  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

Forty  flags  with  their  silver  stars, 
Forty  flags  with  their  crimson  bars, 

Flapped  in  the  morning  wind:  the  sun 
Of  noon  looked  down,  and  saw  not  one. 

Up  rose  old  Barbara  Frietchie  then. 
Bowed  with  her  fourscore  years  and  ten; 

Bravest  of  all  in  Frederick  town. 

She  took  up  the  flag  the  men  hauled  down; 

In  her  attic  window  the  staff  she  set. 
To  show  that  one  heart  was  loyal  yet. 

Up  the  street  came  the  rebel  tread, 
Stonewall  Jackson  riding  ahead. 

Under  his  slouched  hat  left  and  right 
He  glanced;  the  old  flag  met  his  sight. 

"Halt!  "  —  the  dust-brown  ranks  stood  fast. 
"Fire!  "  —  out  blazed  the  rifle-blast. 

It  shivered  the  window,  pane  and  sash; 
It  rent  the  banner  with  seam  and  gash. 

Quick,  as  it  fell,  from  the  broken  staff 
Dame  Barbara  snatched  the  silken  scarf. 

She  leaned  far  out  on  the  window-sill, 
And  shook  it  forth  with  a  royal  will. 

"  Shoot,  if  you  must,  this  old  gray  head, 
But  spare  your  country's  flag,"  she  said. 

A  shade  of  sadness,  a  blush  of  shame. 
Over  the  face  of  the  leader  came; 

The  nobler  nature  within  him  stirred 
To  life  at  that  woman's  deed  and  word; 

"Who  touches  a  hair  of  yon  gray  head 
Dies  like  a  dog  !  March  on !"  he  said. 


DRAMATIC  187 


All  day  long  through  Frederick  street 
Sounded  the  tread  of  marching  feet: 

All  day  long  that  free  flag  tost 
Over  the  heads  of  the  rebel  host. 

Ever  its  torn  folds  rose  and  fell 

On  the  loyal  winds  that  loved  it  well; 

And  through  the  hill-gaps  sunset  light 
Shone  over  it  with  a  warm  good-night. 

Barbara  Frietchie's  work  is  o'er, 

And  the  Rebel  rides  on  his  raids  no  more. 

Honor  to  her  !  and  let  a  tear 

Fall,  for  her  sake,  on  Stonewall's  bier. 

Over  Barbara  Frietchie's  grave, 
Flag  of  Freedom  and  Union,  wave! 

Peace  and  order  and  beauty  draw 
Round  thy  symbol  of  Hght  and  law; 

And  ever  the  stars  above  look  down 
On  thy  stars  below  in  Frederick  town  I 


PAUL  REVERE'S  RIDE! 
Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow. 
Listen,  my  children,  and  you  shall  hear 
Of  the  midnight  ride  of  Paul  Revere, 
On  the  eighteenth  of  April  in  Seventy-five; 
Hardly  a  man  is  now  alive 
Who  remembers  that  famous  day  and  year. 

He  said  to  his  friend,  "If  the  British  march 
By  land  or  sea  from  the  town  to-night, 
Hang  a  lantern  aloft  in  the  belfry  arch 
Of  the  North  Church  tower  as  a  signal  light,- 
One,  if  by  land,  and  two,  if  by  sea; 
And  I  on  the  opposite  shore  will  be, 


i88  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

Ready  to  ride  and  spread  the  alarm 
Through  every  Middlesex  village  and  farm, 
For  the  country  folk  to  be  up  and  to  arm." 

Then  he  said  "Good  night !"  and  with  muffled  oar 

Silently  rowed  to  the  Charlestown  shore, 

Just  as  the  moon  rose  over  the  bay. 

Where  swinging  wide  at  her  moorings  lay 

The  Somerset,  British  man-of-war; 

A  phantom  ship,  with  each  mast  and  spar 

Across  the  moon  like  a  prison  bar. 

And  a  huge  black  hulk,  that  was  magnified 

By  its  own  reflection  in  the  tide. 

Meanwhile  his  friend,  through  alley  and  street. 
Wanders  and  watches  with  eager  ears. 
Till  in  the  silence  around  him  he  hears 
The  muster  of  men  at  the  barrack  door. 
The  sound  of  arms,  and  the  tramp  of  feet, 
And  the  measured  tread  of  the  grenadiers, 
Marching  down  to  their  boats  on  the  shore. 

Then  he  climbed  the  tower  of  the  Old  North  Church, 

By  the  wooden  stairs,  with  stealthy  tread. 

To  the  belfry-chamber  overhead. 

And  startled  the  pigeons  from  their  perch 

On  the  sombre  rafters,  that  round  him  made 

Masses  and  moving  shapes  of  shade, — 

By  the  trembling  ladder,  steep  and  tall, 

To  the  highest  window  in  the  wall. 

Where  he  paused  to  listen  and  look  down 

A  moment  on  the  roofs  of  the  town. 

And  the  moonlight  flowing  over  all. 

Beneath,  in  the  churchyard,  lay  the  dead, 
In  their  night  encampment  on  the  hill, 
Wrapped  in  silence  so  deep  and  still 
That  he  could  hear,  like  a  sentinel's  tread, 
The  watchful  night-wind,  as  it  went 
Creeping  along  from  tent  to  tent 
And  seeming  to  whisper,  "All  is  well !" 
A  moment  only  he  feels  the  spell 


DRAMATIC  189 


Of  the  place  and  the  hour,  and  the  secret  dread 

Of  the  lonely  belfry  and  the  dead; 

For  suddenly  all  his  thoughts  are  bent 

On  a  shadowy  something  far  away, 

Where  the  river  widens  to  meet  the  bay, — 

A  line  of  black  that  bends  and  floats 

On  the  rising  tide,  like  a  bridge  of  boats. 

Meanwhile,  impatient  to  mount  and  ride, 
Booted  and  spurred,  with  a  heavy  stride 
On  the  opposite  shore  walked  Paul  Revere. 
Now  he  patted  his  horse's  side, 
Now  gazed  at  the  landscape  far  and  near, 
Then,  impetuous,  stamped  the  earth, 
And  turned  and  tightened  his  saddle-girth; 

But  mostly  he  watched  with  e^ger  search 
The  belfry-tower  of  the  Old  North  Church, 
As  it  rose  above  the  graves  on  the  hill, 
Lonely  and  spectral  and  sombre  and  still. 
And  lo !  as  he  looks,  on  the  belfry's  height 
A  glimmer,  and  then  a  gleam  of  Ught ! 
He  springs  to  the  saddle,  the  bridle  he  turns, 
But  lingers  and  gazes,  till  full  on  his  sight 
A  second  lamp  in  the  belfry  burns  ! 

A  hurry  of  hoofs  in  a  village  street, 

A  shape  in  the  moonlight,  a  bulk  in  the  dark, 

And  beneath,  from  the  pebbles,  in  passing,  a  spark 

Struck  out  by  a  steed  flying  fearless  and  fleet: 

That  was  all !  And  yet,  through  the  gloom  and  the  light, 

The  fate  of  a  nation  was  riding  that  night; 

And  the  spark  struck  out  by  that  steed,  in  his  flight. 

Kindled  the  land  into  flame  with  its  heat. 

He  has  left  the  village  and  mounted  the  steep. 
And  beneath  him,  tranquil  and  broad  and  deep. 
Is  the  Mystic,  meeting  the  ocean  tides; 
And  under  the  alders  that  skirt  its  edge. 
Now  soft  on  the  sand,  now  loud  on  the  ledge. 
Is  heard  the  tramp  of  his  steed  as  he  rides. 

It  was  twelve  by  the  village  clock. 


I90  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

When  he  crossed  the  bridge  into  Medford  town. 
He  heard  the  crowing  of  the  cock, 
And  the  barking  of  the  farmer's  dog, 
And  felt  the  damp  of  the  river  fog. 
That  rises  after  the  sun  goes  down. 

It  was  one  by  the  village  clock, 

When  he  galloped  into  Lexington. 

He  saw  the  gilded  weathercock 

Swim  in  the  moonlight  as  he  passed, 

And  the  meeting-house  windows,  blank  and  bare, 

Gaze  at  him  with  a  spectral  glare. 

As  if  they  already  stood  aghast 

At  the  bloody  work  they  would  look  upon. 

It  was  two  by  the  village  clock, 
When  he  came  to  the  bridge  in  Concord  town. 
He  heard  the  bleating  of  the  flock. 
And  the  twitter  of  birds  among  the  trees 
And  felt  the  breath  of  the  morning  breeze 
Blowing  over  the  meadows  brown. 
And  one  was  safe  and  asleep  in  his  bed 
Who  at  the  bridge  would  be  first  to  fall, 
Who  that  day  would  be  lying  dead. 
Pierced  by  a  British  musket-ball. 

You  know  the  rest.     In  the  books  you  have  read, 
How  the  British  Regulars  fired  and  fled, — 
How  the  farmers  gave  them  ball  for  ball 
From  behind  each  fence  and  farm-yard  wall, 
Chasing  the  red-coats  down  the  lane. 
Then  crossing  the  fields  to  emerge  again 
Under  the  trees  at  the  turn  of  the  road 
And  only  pausing  to  fire  and  load. 

So  through  the  night  rode  Paul  Revere; 

And  so  through  the  night  went  his  cry  of  alarm 

To  every  Middlesex  village  and  farm, — 

A  cry  of  defiance,  and  not  of  fear, 

A  voice  in  the  darkness,  a  knock  at  the  door, 

And  a  word  that  shall  echo  forevermore! 

For,  borne  on  the  night-wind  of  the  Past, 


DRAMATIC  191 


Through  all  our  history,  to  the  last, 
In  the  hour  of  darkness,  and  peril,  and  need, 
The  people  will  waken  and  Usten  to  hear 
The  hurrying  hoof-beat  of  that  steed, 
And  the  midnight  message  of  Paul  Revere. 

GLAUCUS  AND  THE  LION 
Edward  Bulwer-Lytton 

The  following  selection  is  from  one  of  the  last  chapters  of  Lytton^s 
"Last  Days  of  Pompeii"  It  gives  the  climax  of  the  story.  The 
hero  Glaucus  has  been  unjustly  condemned  to  death  for  the  murder 
of  a  priest  of  I  sis,  Apaecides,  by  name.  The  real  murderer  is  Arbaces, 
an  Egyptian  magician,  the  evil  spirit  of  the  story. 

Another  priest,  Calenus,  had  witnessed  the  crime  and  would 
have  cleared  Glaucus,  had  not  Arbaces  decoyed  him  into  a  dungeon, 
locked  him  there,  and  left  him  to  die  of  starvation.  By  the  assist- 
ance of  the  friends  of  Glaucus,  Calenus  escapes  and  reaches  the 
arena  just  after  the  release  of  the  lion  that  is  to  kill  Glaucus. 

The  scene  is  in  the  great  open  air  amphitheatre  of  Pompeii. 

From  the  seats  of  the  hundred  thousand  spectators  can  be  seen  the 
summit  of  Vesuvius.  No  sign  appeared  there  of  the  terrible  erup- 
tion that  was  to  make  this  really  the  last  day  of  Pompeii.  From 
the  general  destruction  Glaucus  and  his  friends  escaped,  but  Arbaces 
was  killed. 

Glaucus  had  bent  his  limbs  so  as  to  give  himself  the  firmest  posture 
at  the  expected  rush  of  the  lion,  with  his  small  and  shining  weapon 
raised  on  high,  in  the  faint  hope  that  one  well-directed  thrust  (for  he 
knew  that  he  should  have  time  but  for  one)  might  penetrate  through  the 
eye  to  the  brain  of  his  grim  foe. 

But,  to  the  unutterable  astonishment  of  all,  the  beast  seemed  not  even 
aware  of  the  presence  of  the  criminal. 

At  the  first  moment  of  its  release  it  halted  abruptly  in  the  arena, 
raised  itself  half  on  end,  snuffing  the  upward  air  with  impatient  sighs; 
then  suddenly  it  sprang  forward,  but  not  on  the  Athenian.  At  half-speed 
it  circled  round  and  round  the  space,  turning  its  vast  head  from  side  to 
side  with  an  anxious  and  perturbed  gaze,  as  if  seeking  only  some  avenue 
of  escape;  once  or  twice  it  endeavored  to  leap  up  the  parapet  that  divided 


192  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

it  from  the  audience,  and,  on  failing,  uttered  rather  a  baflQed  howl  than 
its  deep-toned  and  kingly  roar.  It  evinced  no  sign,  either  of  wrath  or 
hunger;  its  tail  drooped  along  the  sand,  instead  of  lashing  its  gaunt  sides 
and  its  eye,  though  it  wandered  at  times'to  Glaucus,  rolled  again  list- 
lessly from  him.  At  length,  as  if  tired  of  attempting  to  escape,  it  crept 
with  a  moan  into  its  cave,  and  once  more  laid  itself  down  to  rest. 

The  first  surprise  of  the  assembly  at  the  apathy  of  the  lion  soon 
grew  converted  into  resentment  at  its  cowardice;  and  the  populace 
already  merged  iheir  pity  for  the  fate  of  Glaucus  into  angry  compassion 
for  their  own  disappointment. 

The  editor  called  to  the  keeper. 

"How  is  this?  Take  the  goad,  prick  him  forth,  and  then  close  the 
door  of  the  den." 

As  the  keeper,  with  some  fear,  but  more  astonishment,  was  preparing 
to  obey,  a  loud  cry  was  heard  at  one  of  the  entrances  of  the  arena; 
there  was  a  confusion,  a  bustle  —  voices  of  remonstrance  suddenly 
breaking  forth,  and  suddenly  silenced  at  the  reply.  All  eyes  turned  in 
wonder  at  the  interruption,  toward  the  quarter  of  disturbance;  the 
crowd  gave  way,  and  suddenly  Sallust  appeared  on  the  senatorial  bench, 
his  hair  dishevelled — breathless — heated — half  exhausted.  He  cast  his 
eye  hastily  round  the  ring. 

"Remove  the  Athenian!"  he  cried;  "haste — he  is  innocent!  Arrest 
Arbaces  the  Egyptian  — HE  is  the  murderer  of  Apaecides!" 

"Art  thou  mad,  O  Sallust!"  said  the  praetor,  rising  from  his  seat. 
"What  means  this  raving?" 

"Remove  the  Athenian!  Quick!  or  his  blood  be  on  your  head. 
Praetor,  delay,  and  you  answer  with  your  own  life  to  the  emperor!  I 
bring  with  me  the  eye-witness  to  the  death  of  the  priest  Apaecides. 
Room  there — stand  back — give  way!  People  of  Pompeii,  fix  every  eye 
upon  Arbaces — there  he  sits!     Room  there  for  the  priest  Calenus!" 

Pale,  haggard,  fresh  from  the  jaws  of  famine  and  of  death,  his  face 
fallen,  his  eye  dull  as  a  vulture's,  his  broad  frame  gaunt  as  a  skeleton— 
Calenus  was  supported  into  the  very  row  in  which  Arbaces  sat. 
His  releasers  had  given  him  sparingly  of  food;  but  the  chief  sustenance 
that  nerved  his  feeble  limbs  was  revenge. 

"The  priest  Calenus!  Calenus!"  cried  the  mob.  "Is  it  he?  No  —it 
is  a  dead  man!" 

"It  is  the  priest  Calenus,"  said  the  praetor,  gravely,  "What  hast  thou 
to  say?" 

"Arbaces  of  Egypt  is  the  murderer  of  Apaecides,  the  priest  of  Isis; 


DRAMATIC  193 


these  eyes  saw  him  deal  the  blow.  It  is  from  the  dungeon  into  which 
he  plunged  me.  It  is  from  the  darkness  and  horror  of  a  death  by  famine — 
that  the  gods  have  raised  me  to  proclaim  his  crime!  Release  the  Athen- 
ian— he  is  innocent!" 

"It  is  for  this,  then,  that  the  lion  spared  him.  A  miracle!  a  miracle!" 
cried  Pansa. 

"A  miracle!  A  miracle!"  shouted  the  people;  "remove  the 
Athenian — Arbaces  to  the  lionl"  And  that  shout  echoed  from  hill  to 
vale — from  coast  to  sea — "Arbaces  to  the  lionl" 

"Officers,  remove  the  accused  Glaucus —  remove,  but  guard  him  yet," 
said  the  praetor.     "The  gods  lavish  their  wonders  upon  this  day." 

"Calenus,  priest  of  Isis,  thou  accusest  Arbaces  of  the  murder  of 
Apaecides?" 

"I  do!" 

"Thou  didst  behold  the  deed?" 

"  Praetor — with  these  eyes. — ' ' 

"Enough  at  present — the  details  must  be  reserved  for  a  more  suiting 
time  and  place.  Arbaces  of  Egypt,  thou  hearest  the  charge  against 
thee — thou  hast  not  yet  spoken what  hast  thou  to  say?" 

The  gaze  of  the  crowd  had  been  long  riveted  on  Arbaces;  but  not 
until  the  confusion  which  he  had  betrayed  at  the  first  charge  of  Sallust 
and  the  entrance  of  Calenus  had  subsided.  At  the  shout,  "Arbaces  to 
the  lion!"  he  had  indeed  trembled,  and  the  dark  bronze  on  his  cheek 
had  taken  a  paler  hue.  But  he  had  soon  recovered  his  haughtiness  and 
self-control.  Proudly  he  returned  the  angry  glare  of  the  countless  eyes 
around  him;  and  replying  now  to  the  question  of  the  praetor,  he  said,  in 
that  accent  so  peculiarly  tranquil  and  commanding,  which  characterized 
his  tones: 

"This  man  came  to  threaten  that  he  would  make  against  me  the 
charge  he  has  now  made,  unless  I  would  purchase  his  silence  with  half 
my  fortune;  I  remonstrated  in  vain.  Were  I  guilty,  why  was  the  witness 
of  this  priest  silent  at  the  trial?  Why  did  he  not  proclaim  my  guilt 
when  I  proclaimed  that  of  Glaucus?  Praetor,  I  throw  myself  on  your 
laws.  I  demand  their  protection.  Remove  hence  the  accused  and  the 
accuser.  I  will  willingly  meet,  and  cheerfully  abide  by,  the  decision  of 
the  legitimate  tribunal.     This  is  no  place  for  further  parley." 

"He  says  right,"  said  the  praetor.  "Ho!  guards — remove  Arbaces — 
guard  Calenus!  Sallust,  we  hold  you  responsible  for  your  accusation. 
Let  the  sports  be  resumed." 

"What!"  cried  Calenus,  turning  round  to  the  people,  "shall  Isis  be 


194  ESSENTIALS    OF  READING 

thus  contemned  ?  Shall  the  blood  of  Apaecides  yet  cry  for  vengeance  ? 
Shall  justice  be  delayed  now,  that  it  may  be  frustrated  hereafter  ?  Shall 
the  lion  be  cheated  of  his  lawful  prey?  A  god!  a  god!  I  feel  the  god 
rush  to  my  lips!     To  the  lion — to  the  lion  with  Arbaces!" 

His  exhausted  frame  could  support  no  longer  the  ferocious  malice  of 
the  priest;  he  sank  on  the  ground  in  strong  convulsions — the  foam 
gathered  to  his  mouth — he  was  as  a  man,  indeed,  whom  a  supernatural 
power  had  entered.     The  people  saw,  and  shuddered. 

"It  is  a  god  that  inspires  the  holy  man !  To  the  lion  with  the  Egyptian! " 

With  that  cry  up  sprang — or  moved — thousands  upon  thousands. 
They  rushed  from  the  heights — they  poured  down  in  the  direction  of  the 
Egyptian.  In  vain  did  the  aedile  command — in  vain  did  the  praetor 
lift  his  voice  and  proclaim  the  law.  The  people  had  been  already 
rendered  savage  by  the  exhibition  of  blood — they  thirsted  for  more — 
their  superstition  was  aided  by  their  ferocity.  Aroused — inflamed  by 
the  spectacle  of  their  victims,  they  forgot  the  authority  of  their  rulers. 
It  was  one  of  those  dread  popular  convulsions  common  to  crowds  wholly 
ignorant,  half  free  and  half  servile;  and  which  the  peculiar  constitution 
of  the  Roman  provinces  so  frequently  exhibited.  The  power  of  the 
praetor  was  as  a  reed  beneath  the  whirlwind;  still,  at  his  word  the  guards 
had  drawn  themselves  along  the  lower  benches,  on  which  the  upper 
classes  sat  separate  [from  the  vulgar.  They  made  but  a  feeble  barrier — 
the  waves  of  the  human  sea  halted  for  a  moment,  to  enable  Arbaces  to 
count  the  exact  moment  of  his  doom!  In  despair,  and  in  a  terror  which 
beat  down  even  pride,  he  glanced  his  eyes  over  the  rolling  and  rushing 
crowd — when,  right  above  them  through  the  wide  chasm  which  had 
been  left  in  the  velaria,  he  beheld  a  strange  and  awful  apparition — he 
beheld — and  his  craft  restored  his  courage! 

He  stretched  his  hand  on  high;  over  his  lofty  brow  and  royal  features 
there  came  an   expression  of  unutterable   solemnity  and   command. 

"Behold!"  he  shouted  with  a  voice  of  thunder,  which  stilled  the  roar 
or  the  crowd;  "behold  how  the  gods  protect  the  guiltless!  The  fires  of 
the  avenging  Orcus  burst  forth  against  the  false  witness  of  my  accusers!" 

The  eyes  of  the  crowd  followed  the  gesture  of  the  Egyptian,  and 
beheld,  with  ineffable  dismay,  a  vast  vapor  shooting  from  the  summit  of 
Vesuvius,  in  the  form  of  a  gigantic  pine-tree;  the  trunk  blackness — the 
branches,  fire!  a  fire  that  shifted  and  wavered  in  its  hues  with  every 
moment,  now  fiercely  luminous,  now  of  a  dull  and  dying  red,  that  again 
blazed  terrifically  forth  with  intolerable  glare! 

There  was  a  dead,  heart-sunken  silence — through  which  there  suddenly 


DRAMATIC  195 


broke  the  roar  of  the  lion,  which  was  echoed  back  from  within  the 
building  by  the  sharper  and  fiercer  yells  of  its  fellow  beast.  Dread  seers 
were  they  of  the  bxirden  of  the  atmosphere,  and  wild  prophets  of  the 
wrath  to  come. 

Then  there  arose  on  high  the  universal  shrieks  of  women;  the  men 
stared  at  each  other,  but  were  dumb.  At  that  moment  they  felt  the 
earth  shake  beneath  their  feet;  the  walls  of  the  theater  trembled;  and, 
beyond  in  the  distance,  they  heard  the  crash  of  falhng  roofs;  an  instant 
more  and  the  mountain-cloud  seemed  to  roll  toward  them,  dark  and 
rapid,  like  a  torrent;  at  the  same  time,  it  cast  forth  from  its  bosom  a 
shower  of  ashes  mixed  with  vast  fragments  of  burning  stone!  Over  the 
crushing  vines — over  the  desolate  streets — over  the  amphitheater  itself — 
far  and  wide  — with  many  a  mighty  splash  in  the  agitated  sea — fell  that 
awful  shower! 

No  longer  thought  the  crowd  of  justice  or  of  Arbaces;  safety  for 
themselves  was  their  sole  thought.  Each  turned  to  fly — each  dashing, 
pressing,  crushing,  against  the  other.  Trampling  recklessly  over  the 
fallen — amid  groans,  and  oaths,  and  prayers,  and  sudden  shrieks,  the 
enormous  crowd  vomited  itself  forth  through  the  nimierous  passages. 
Whither  should  they  fly!  Some,  anticipating  a  second  earthquake, 
hastened  to  their  homes  to  load  themselves  with  their  most  costly  goods, 
and  escape  while  it  was  yet  time;  others,  dreading  the  showers  of  ashes 
that  now  fell  fast,  torrent  upon  torrent,  over  the  streets,  rushed  under 
the  roofs  of  the  nearest  houses,  or  temples,  or  sheds — shelter  of  any  kind 
— for  protection  from  the  terrors  of  the  open  air.  But  darker  and 
larger,  and  mightier,  spread  the  cloud  above  them.  It  was  a  sudden 
and  more  ghastly  Night  rushing  upon  the  realm  of  Noon! 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
NARRATIVE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE 

THE  LADY  OF  SHALOTT 
Alfred  Tennyson 

PART  I 

On  either  side  the  river  He 
Long  fields  of  barley  and  of  rye, 
That  clothe  the  wold  and  meet  the  sky; 
And  thro'  the  field  the  road  runs  by 

To  many  tower 'd  Camelot; 
And  up  and  down  the  people  go, 
Gazing  where  the  lilies  blow 
Round  an  island  there  below, 

The  island  of  Shalott. 

Willows  whiten,  aspens  quiver, 
Little  breezes  dusk  and  shiver 
Thro'  the  wave  that  runs  forever 
By  the  island  in  the  river 

Flowing  down  to  Camelot. 
Four  gray  walls,  and  four  gray  towers, 
Overlook  a  space  of  flowers, 
And  the  silent  isle  imbowers 

The  Lady  of  Shalott. 

By  the  margin,  willow-veil 'd, 
Slide  the  heavy  barges  trail 'd 
By  slow  horses;  and  unbailed 
The  shallop  flitteth  silken-sail 'd 

Skimming  down  to  Camelot: 
But  who  hath  seen  her  wave  her  hand  ? 
Or  at  the  casement  seen  her  stand  ? 
Or  is  she  known  in  all  the  land, 

TheLady  of  Shalott? 
196 


NARRATIVE  AND   DESCRIPTIVE  197 

Only  reapers,  reaping  early 
In  among  the  bearded  barley, 
Hear  a  song  that  echoes  cheerly 
From  the  river  winding  clearly, 

Down  to  tower 'd  Camelot: 
And  by  the  moon  the  reaper  weary, 
Piling  sheaves  in  uplands  airy, 
Listening,  whispers,  "  'Tis  the  fairy 

Lady  of  Shalott." 

PART  n 
There  she  weaves  by  night  and  day 
A  magic  web  of  colors  gay. 
She  has  heard  a  whisper  say, 
A  curse  is  on  her  if  she  stay 

To  look  down  to  Camelot. 
She  knows  not  what  the  curse  may  be, 
And  so  she  weaveth  steadily, 
And  little  other  care  hath  she. 

The  Lady  of  Shalott. 

And  moving  thro'  a  mirror  clear 
That  hangs  before  her  all  the  year. 
Shadows  of  the  world  appear. 
There  she  sees  the  highway  near 

Winding  down  to  Camelot: 
There  the  river  eddy  whirls. 
And  there  the  surly  village-churls, 
And  the  red  cloaks  of  market  girls. 

Pass  onward  from  Shalott. 

Sometimes  a  troop  of  damsels  glad. 
An  abbot  on  an  ambling  pad. 
Sometimes  a  curly  shepherd-lad, 
Or  long-hair 'd  page  in  crimson  clad. 

Goes  by  to  tower M  Camelot; 
And  sometimes  thro'  the  mirror  blue 
The  knights  come  riding  two  and  two: 
She  hath  no  loyal  knight  and  true. 

The  Lady  of  Shalott 


198  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

But  in  her  web  she  still  delights 
To  weave  the  mirror's  magic  sights, 
For  often  thro'  the  silent  nights 
A  funeral,  with  plumes  and  lights. 

And  music,  went  to  Camelot: 
Or  when  the  moon  was  overhead. 
Came  two  young  lovers  lately  wed; 
"I  am  half -sick  of  shadows,"  said 

The  Lady  of  Shalott. 

PART  III 

A  bow-shot  from  her  bower-eaves, 
He  rode  between  the  barley-sheaves, 
The  sun  came  dazzling  through  the  leaves, 
And  flamed  upon  the  brazen  greaves 

Of  bold  Sir  Lancelot. 
A  red-cross  knight  for  ever  kneeled 
To  a  lady  in  his  shield, 
That  sparkled  on  the  yellow  field, 

Beside  remote  Shalott. . . . 

All  in  the  blue  unclouded  weather 
Thick-jeweled  shone  the  saddle-leather, 
The  helmet  and  the  helmet-feather 
Burned  like  one  burning  flame  together, 

As  he  rode  down  to  Camelot. 
As  often  through  the  purple  night, 
Below  the  starry  clusters  bright. 
Some  bearded  meteor,  trailing  light. 

Moves  over  still  Shalott. 

His  broad  clear  brow  in  sunlight  glowed  ; 
On  burnished  hooves  his  war-horse  trode ; 
From  underneath  his  helmet  flowed 
His  coal-black  curls  as  on  he  rode. 

As  he  rode  down  to  Camelot. 
From  the  bank  and  from  the  river 
He  flashed  into  the  crystal  mirror, 
"  Tirra  hrra,"  by  the  river 

Sang  Sir  Lancelot. 


NARRATIVE  AND  DESCRIPTIVE  199 

She  left  the  web,  she  left  the  loom, 
She  made  three  paces  through  the  room, 
She  saw  the  water-lily  bloom. 
She  saw  the  helmet  and  the  plume, 

She  looked  down  to  Camelot. 
Out  flew  the  web  and  floated  wide  ; 
The  mirror  cracked  from  side  to  side  ; 
"  The  curse  is  come  upon  me,"  cried 

The  Lady  of  Shalott. 


In  the  stormy  east-wind  straining, 
The  pale  yellow  woods  were  waning, 
The  broad  stream  in  his  banks  com- 
plaining, 
Heavily  the  low  sky  raining 

Over  tower 'd  Camelot; 
Down  she  came  and  found  a  boat 
Beneath  a  willow  left  afloat, 
And  round  about  the  prow  she  wrote 

The  Lady  oj  Shalott. 

And  down  the  river's  dim  expanse — 
Like  some  bold  seer  in  a  trance 
Seeing  all  his  own  mischance — 
"With  a  glassy  countenance 

Did  she  look  to  Camelot. 
And  at  the  closing  of  the  day 
She  loosed  the  chain  and  down  she  lay; 
The  broad  stream  bore  her  far  away 

The  Lady  of  Shalott. 

Lying,  robed  in  snowy  white 
That  loosely  flew  to  left  and  right — 
The  leaves  upon  her  falling  Ught — 
Thro'  the  noises  of  the  night 

She  floated  down  to  Camelot; 
And  as  the  boat-head  wound  along 
The  willowy  hills  and  fields  amaix^* 
They  heard  her  singing  her  last  song, 

The  Lady  of  Shalott. 


200  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

Heard  a  carol,  mournful,  holy, 
Chanted  loudly,   chanted  lowly, 
Till  her  blood  was  frozen  slowly, 
And  her  eyes  were  darken 'd  wholly 

Turn'd  to  tower 'd  Camelot; 
For  ere  she  reached  upon  the  tide 
The  first  house  by  the  water-side. 
Singing  in  her  song  she  died, 

The  Lady  of  Shalott. 

Under  tower  and  balcony, 

By  garden-wall  and  gallery, 

A  gleaming  shape  she  floated  by. 

Dead-pale  between  the  houses  high, 

Silent  into  Camelot. 
Out  upon  the  wharfs  they  came, 
Knight  and  burgher,  lord  and  dame, 
And  round  the  prow  they  read  her  name, 

The  Lady  o)  Shalott. 

Who  is  this  ?  and  what  is  here  ? 
And  in  the  hghted  palace  near 
Died  the  sound  of  royal  cheer: 
And  they  cross 'd  themselves  for  fear. 

All  the  knights  at  Camelot; 
But  Lancelot  mused  a  little  space: 
He  said,  "She  has  a  lovely  face; 
God  in  his  mercy  lend  her  grace; 

The  Lady  of  Shalott." 

ICHABOD  CRANE 
Washington  Irving 
The  following  selection  is  the  beginning  of  Washington  Irving^ s 
"Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow"  in  the  "Sketch-Book"     It  is  an  ad- 
mirable example  of  Irving^ s  beautiful  style,  and  a  wonderfully  vivid 
picture  of  the  extraordinary  hero  of  a  remarkable  adventure. 

A  careful  study  of  the  whole  tale  as  well  as  of  this  selection  will 
afford  not  only  pleasure,  but  profit  in  an  enlarged  vocabulary  and 
a  cultivated  taste. 


NARRATIVE  AND   DESCRIPTIVE  201 

In  the  bosom  of  one  of  those  spacious  coves  which  indent  the  eastern 
shore  of  the  Hudson,  at  that  broad  expansion  of  the  river  denominated 
by  the  ancient  Dutch  navigators  the  Tappan  Zee,  and  where  they  always 
prudently  shortened  sail,  and  implored  the  protection  of  St.  Nicholas 
when  they  crossed,  there  lies  a  small  market-town  or  rural  port,  which 
by  some  is  called  Greensburgh,  but  which  is  more  generally  and  pro- 
perly known  by  the  name  of  Tarry  Town.  This  name  was  given,  we  are 
told,  in  former  days,  by  the  good  house-wives  of  the  adjacent  country, 
from  the  inveterate  propensity  of  their  husbands  to  linger  about  the 
village  tavern  on  market-days.  Be  that  as  it  may,  I  do  not  vouch  for 
the  fact,  but  merely  advert  to  it,  for  the  sake  of  being  precise  and  authentic. 
Not  far  from  this  village,  perhaps  about  two  miles,  there  is  a  little  valley, 
or  rather  lap  of  land,  among  high  hills,  which  is  one  of  the  quietest 
places  in  the  whole  world.  A  small  brook  glides  through  it,  with  just 
murmur  enough  to  lull  one  to  repose;  and  the  occasional  whistle  of  a 
quail,  or  tapping  of  a  woodpecker,  is  almost  the  only  sound  that  ever 
breaks  in  upon  the  uniform  tranquility. 

From  the  listless  repose  of  the  place,  and  the  peculiar  character  of  its 
inhabitants,  who  are  descendants  from  the  original  Dutch  settlers, 
this  sequestered  glen  has  long  been  known  by  the  name  of  SLEEPY 
HOLLOW,  and  its  rustic  lads  are  called  the  Sleepy  Hollow  Boys 
throughout  all  the  neighboring  country. 

In  this  by-place  of  nature  there  abode,  in  a  remote  period  of  American 
history,  that  is  to  say,  some  thirty  years  since,  a  worthy  wight  of  the  name 
of  Ichabod  Crane;  who  sojourned,  or,  as  he  expressed  it,  "tarried,"  in 
Sleepy  Hollow,  for  the  purpose  of  instructing  the  children  of  the  vicinity. 
He  was  a  native  of  Connecticut;  a  State  which  supplies  the  Union  with 
pioneers  for  the  mind  as  well  as  for  the  forest,  and  sends  forth  yearly  its 
legions  of  frontier  woodsmen  and  country  schoolmasters.  The  cognomen 
of  Crane  was  not  inapplicable  to  his  person.  He  was  tall,  but  exceedingly 
lank,  with  narrow  shoulders,  long  arms  and  legs,  hands  that  dangled  a 
mile  out  of  his  sleeves,  feet  that  might  have  served  for  shovels,  and  his 
whole  frame  most  loosely  hung  together.  His  head  was  small,  and  flat 
at  top,  with  huge  ears,  large  green  glassy  eyes,  and  a  long  snipe  nose,  so 
that  it  looked  Uke  a  weathercock  perched  upon  his  spindle  neck,  to  tell 
which  way  the  wind  blew.  To  see  him  striding  along  the  profile  of  a 
hill  on  a  windy  day,  with  his  clothes  bagging  and  fluttering  about  him, 
one  might  have  mistaken  him  for  the  genius  of  famine  descending  upon 
the  earth,  or  some  scarecrow  eloped  from  the  cornfield. 

His  school-house  was  a  low  building  of  one  large  room,  rudely  con- 


2oa  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

structedof  logs;  the  windows  partly  glazed,  and  partly  patched  with  leaves 
of  old  copy-books.  It  was  most  ingeniously  secured  at  vacant  hours  by 
withes  twisted  in  the  handle  of  the  door,  and  stakes  set  against  the 
window-shutters;  so  that  though  a  thief  might  get  in  with  perfect 
ease,  he  would  find  some  embarrassment  in  getting  out;  an  idea  most 
probably  borrowed  by  the  architect,  Yost  Van  Houten,  from  the  mystery 
of  an  eel-pot.  The  school-house  stood  in  a  rather  lonely  but  pleasant 
situation,  just  at  the  foot  of  a  woody  hill,  with  a  brook  running  close  by, 
and  a  formidable  birch-tree  growing  at  one  end  of  it.  From  hence  the 
low  murmur  of  his  pupils'  voices,  conning  over  their  lessons,  might  be 
heard  in  a  drowsy  summer's  day,  like  the  hum  of  a  beehive,  interrupted 
now  and  then  by  the  authoritative  voice  of  the  master,  in  the  tone  of 
menace  or  command;  or,  peradventure,  by  the  appalling  sound  of  the 
birch,  as  he  urged  some  tardy  loiterer  along  the  flowery  path  of  knowl- 
edge. Truth  to  say,  he  was  a  conscientious  man,  and  ever  bore  in  mind 
the  golden  maxim,  "Spare  the  rod  and  spoil  the  child." 

Ichabod  Crane's  scholars  certainly  were  not  spoiled.  I  would  not 
have  it  imagined,  however,  that  he  was  one  of  those  cruel  potentates  of 
the  school  who  joy  in  the  smart  of  their  subjects;  on  the  contrary,  he 
administered  justice  with  discrimination  rather  than  severity;  taking 
the  burden  off  the  backs  of  the  weak,  and  laying  it  on  those  of  the  strong. 
Your  mere  puny  stripling,  that  winced  at  the  least  flourish  of  the  rod, 
was  passed  by  with  indulgence;  but  the  claims  of  justice  were  satisfied 
by  inflicting  a  double  portion  on  some  little,  tough,  wrong-headed, 
broad-skirted  Dutch  urchin,  who  sulked  and  swelled  and  grew  dogged 
and  sullen  beneath  the  birch.  All  this  he  called  "doing  his  duty  by 
their  parents;"  and  he  never  inflicted  a  chastisement  without  following 
it  by  the  assurance,  so  consolatory  to  the  smarting  urchin,  that  "he  would 
remember  it,  and  thank  him  for  it,  the  longest  day  he  had  to  live." 

When  school-hours  were  over,  he  was  even  the  companion  and  play- 
mate of  the  larger  boys;  and  on  holiday  afternoons  would  convoy  some 
of  the  smaller  ones  home,  who  happened  to  have  pretty  sisters,  or  good 
housewives  for  mothers,  noted  for  the  comforts  of  the  cupboard.  Indeed, 
it  behooved  him  to  keep  on  good  terms  with  his  pupils.  The  revenue 
arising  from  his  school  was  small,  and  would  have  been  scarcely  suf- 
ficient to  furnish  him  with  daily  bread,  for  he  was  a  huge  feeder,  and, 
though  lank,  had  the  dilating  powers  of  an  anaconda;  but  to  help  out 
his  maintenance,  he  was,  according  to  country  custom  in  those  parts, 
boarded  and  lodged  at  the  houses  of  the  famers,  whose  children  he 
instructed.    With  these  he  lived  successively  a  week  at  a  time;  thus 


NARRATIVE  AND   DESCRIPTIVE  203 

going  the  rounds  of  the  neighborhood,  with  all  his  worldly  effects  tied 
up  in  a  cotton  handkerchief. 

That  all  this  might  not  be  too  onerous  on  the  purses  of  his  rustic 
patrons,  who  are  apt  to  consider  the  costs  of  schooling  a  grievous  burden, 
and  schoolmasters  as  mere  drones,  he  had  various  ways  of  rendering 
himself  both  useful  and  agreeable.  He  assisted  the  farmers  occasionally 
in  the  lighter  labors  of  their  farms;  helped  to  make  hay;  mended  the 
fences;  took  the  horses  to  water;  drove  the  cows  from  pasture;  cut  wood 
for  the  winter  fire.  He  laid  aside,  too,  all  the  dominant  dignity  and 
absolute  sway  with  which  he  lorded  it  in  his  little  empire,  the  school,  and 
became  wonderfully  gentle  and  ingratiating.  He  found  favor  in  the 
eyes  of  the  mothers,  by  petting  the  children,  particularly  the  youngest; 
and  like  the  lion  bold  which  whilom  so  magnanimously  the  lamb  did 
hold,  he  would  sit  with  a  child  on  one  knee,  and  rock  a  cradle  with  his 
foot  for  whole  hours  together. 

In  addition  to  his  other  vocations,  he  was  the  singing-master  of  the 
neighborhood,  and  picked  up  many  bright  shillings  by  instructing  the 
young  folks  in  psalmody.  It  was  a  matter  of  no  Uttle  vanity  to  him,  on 
Sundays,  to  take  his  station  in  front  of  the  church  gallery,  with  a  band 
of  chosen  singers;  where,  in  his  own  mind,  he  completely  carried  away 
the  palm  from  the  parson.  Certain  it  is,  his  voice  resounded  far  above 
all  the  rest  of  the  congregation;  and  there  are  peculiar  quavers  still  to 
be  heard  in  that  church,  and  which  may  even  be  heard  half  a  mile  off, 
quite  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  mill-pond,  on  a  still  Sunday  morning, 
which  are  said  to  be  legitimately  descended  from  the  nose  of  Ichabod 
Crane.  Thus  by  divers  little  make-shifts  in  that  ingenious  way  which  is 
commonly  denominated  "by  hook  and  by  crook,"  the  worthy  pedagogue 
got  on  tolerably  enough,  and  was  thought,  by  all  who  understood  nothing 
of  the  labor  of  head-work,  to  have  a  wonderfully  easy  life  of  it. 

The  schoolmaster  is  generally  a  man  of  some  importance  in  the 
female  circle  of  a  rural  neighborhood;  being  considered  a  kind  of  idle 
gentle-man  like  personage,  of  vastly  superior  taste  and  accomplishment 
to  the  rough  country  swains,  and,  indeed,  inferior  in  learning  only  to 
the  parson.  His  appearance,  therefore,  is  apt  to  occasion  some  little 
stir  at  the  tea-table  of  a  farm-house,  and  the  addition  of  a  supernumerary 
dish  of  cakes  or  sweetmeats,  or,  peradventure,  the  parade  of  a  silver 
tea-pot.  Our  man  of  letters,  therefore,  was  peculiarly  happy  in  the 
smiles  of  all  the  country  damsels.  How  he  would  figure  among  them 
in  the  church-yard,  between  services  on  Sundays!  gathering  grapes  for 
them  from  the  wild  vines  that  overrun  the  surrounding  trees;  reciting 


204  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

for  their  amusement  all  the  epitaphs  on  the  tomb-stones;  or  sauntering 
with  a  whole  bevy  of  them,  along  the  banks  of  the  adjacent  mill-pond; 
while  the  more  bashful  country  bumpkins  hung  sheepishly  back,  envying 
his  superior  elegance  and  address. 

From  his  half  itinerant  life,  also,  he  was  a  kind  of  travehng  gazette, 
carrying  the  whole  budget  of  local  gossip  from  house  to  house;  so  that 
his  appearance  was  always  greeted  with  satisfaction.  He  was,  moreover, 
esteemed  by  the  women  as  a  man  of  great  erudition,  for  he  had  read 
several  books  quite  through  and  was  a  perfect  master  of  Cotton  Mather's 
History  of  New  England  Witchcraft,  in  which,  by  the  way,  he  most  firmly 
and  potently  believed. 


THE  DEATH  OF  LITTLE  NELL 

Charles  Dickens 

She  was  dead.  No  sleep  so  beautiful  and  calm,  so  free  from  trace  of 
pain,  so  fair  to  look  upon.  She  seemed  a  creature  fresh  from  the  hand 
of  God,  and  waiting  for  the  breath  of  hfe;  not  one  who  had  lived  and 
suffered  death.  Her  couch  was  dressed  with  here  and  there  some 
winter-berries  and  green  leaves  gathered  in  a  spot  she  had  been  used  to 
favor.  "When  I  die,  put  near  me  something  that  has  loved  the  light, 
and  had  the  sky  above  it  always."     These  were  her  words. 

She  was  dead.  Dear,  gentle,  patient,  noble  Nell  was  dead.  Her 
little  bird — a  poor,  sUght  thing  the  pressure  of  a  finger  would  have 
crushed — was  stirring  nimbly  in  its  cage;  and  the  strong  heart  of  its 
child-mistress  was  mute  and  motionless  forever.  Where  were  the  traces 
of  her  early  cares,  her  sufferings,  and  fatigues?  All  gone.  Sorrow  was 
dead,  indeed,  in  her;  but  peace  and  perfect  happiness  were  born — 
imagined — in  her  tranquil  beauty  and  profound  repose. 

And  still  her  former  self  lay  there,  unaltered  in  this  change.  Yes. 
The  old  fireside  had  smiled  upon  that  same  sweet  face;  it  had  passed, 
like  a  dream,  through  haunts  of  misery  and  care;  at  the  door  of  the  poor 
schoolmaster  on  the  summer  evening,  before  the  furnace-fire  upon  the 
cold,  wet  night,  at  the  still  bedside  of  the  dying  boy  there  had  been  the 
same  mild  and  lovely  look.  So  shall  we  know  the  angels  in  their  majesty, 
after  death. 

The  old  man  held  one  languid  arm  in  his,  and  the  small  tight  hand 
folded  to  his  breast  for  warmth.  It  was  the  hand  she  had  stretched  out 
to  him  with  her  last  smile,  the  hand  that  had  led  him  on  through  all 
their  wanderings.      Ever  and  anon  he  pressed  it  to  his  lips;  then  hugged 


NARRATIVE  AND   DESCRIPTIVE  205 

it  to  his  breast  again,  murmuring  that  it  was  warmer  now;  and,  as  he 
said  it,  he  looked  in  agony  to  those  who  stood  around,  as  if  imploring 
them  to  help  her. 

She  was  dead,  and  past  all  help,  or  need  of  help.  The  ancient  rooms 
she  had  seemed  to  fill  with  hfe,  even  while  her  own  was  waning  fast — the 
garden  she  had  tended— the  eyes  she  had  gladdened — the  noiseless 
haunts  of  many  a  thoughtless  hour — the  paths  she  had  trodden,  as  it 
were,  but  yesterday — could  know  her  no  more. 

"It  is  not,"  said  the  schoolmaster,  as  he  bent  down  to  kiss  her  on  the 
cheek,  and  gave  his  tears  free  vent,  "it  is  not  in  this  world  that  Heaven's 
justice  ends.  Think  what  earth  is,  compared  with  the  world  to  which 
her  young  spirit  has  winged  its  early  flight,  and  say,  if  one  deliberate  wish, 
expressed  in  solemn  tones  above  this  bed,  could  call  her  back  to  hfe, 
which  of  us  would  utter  it!  " 

She  had  been  dead  two  days.  They  were  all  about  her  at  the  time, 
knowing  that  the  end  was  drawing  on.  She  died  soon  after  daybreak. 
They  had  read  and  talked  to  her  in  the  earlier  portion  of  the  night;  but 
as  the  hours  crept  on,  she  sank  to  sleep.  They  could  tell,  by  what  she 
faintly  uttered  in  her  dreams,  that  they  were  of  her  journeyings  with  the 
old  man:  they  were  of  no  painful  scenes,  but  of  those  who  had  helped 
them  and  used  them  kindly;  for  she  often  said  "God  bless  you!"  with 
great  fervor. 

Waking,  she  never  wandered  in  her  mind  but  once,  and  that  was  at 
beautiful  music,  which  she  said,  was  in  the  air.  God  knows.  It  may 
have  been.  Opening  her  eyes  at  last,  from  a  very  quiet  sleep,  she  begged 
that  they  would  kiss  her  once  again.  That  done,  she  turned  to  the  old 
man,  with  a  lovely  smile  upon  her  face — such,  they  said,  as  they  had 
never  seen,  and  never  could  forget — and  clung  with  both  her  arms 
about  his  neck.  She  had  never  murmured  or  complained:  but  with  a 
quiet  mind,  and  manner  quite  unaltered — save  that  she  every  day  became 
more  earnest  and  more  grateful  to  them — faded  like  the  light  upon  the 
summer's  evening. 

The  child  who  had  been  her  httle  friend,  came  there,  almost  as  soon  as 
it  was  day,  with  an  offering  of  dried  flowers,  which  he  begged  them  to 
lay  upon  her  breast.  He  told  them  of  his  dream  again,  and  that  it  was 
of  her  being  restored  to  them,  just  as  she  used  to  be.  He  begged  hard 
to  see  her,  saying  that  he  would  be  very  quiet,  and  that  they  need  not 
fear  his  being  alarmed,  for  he  had  sat  alone  by  his  younger  brother  all 
day  long  when  he  was  dead,  and  had  felt  glad  to  be  so  near  him.  They 
let  him  have  his  wish;  and,  indeed,  he  kept  his  word,  and  was,  in  his 
childish  way,  a  lesson  to  them  all. 


2o6  ESSENTIALS  OF   READING 

Up  to  that  time,  the  old  man  had  not  spoken  once,  except  to  her — or 
stirred  from  the  bedside.  But  when  he  saw  her  little  favorite,  he  was 
moved  as  they  had  not  seen  him  yet,  and  made  as  though  he  would  have 
him  come  nearer.  Then,  pointing  to  the  bed,  he  burst  into  tears  for 
the  first  time,  and  they  who  stood  by,  knowing  that  the  sight  of  this  child 
had  done  him  good,  left  them  alone  together. 

Soothing  him  with  his  artless  talk  of  her,  the  child  persuaded  him  to 
take  some  rest,  to  walk  abroad,  to  do  almost  as  he  desired  him.  And, 
when  the  day  came  on  which  they  must  remove  her,  in  her  earthly  shape, 
from  earthly  eyes  forever,  he  led  him  away,  that  he  might  not  know 
when  she  was  taken  from  him.  They  were  to  gather  fresh  leaves  and 
berries  for  her  bed. 

And  now  the  bell,  the  bell  she  had  so  often  heard  by  night  and  day, 
and  listened  to  with  solemn  pleasure,  almost  as  a  hving  voice,  rung  its 
remorseless  toll  for  her,  so  young,  so  beautiful,  so  good.  Decrepit  age, 
and  vigorous  Hfe,  and  blooming  youth,  and  helpless  infancy,  poured 
forth — on  crutches,  in  the  pride  of  health  and  strength,  in  the  full  blush 
of  promise,  in  the  mere  dawn  of  hfe — to  gather  round  her  tomb.  Old 
men  were  there,  whose  eyes  were  dimmed  and  senses  failing;  grand- 
mothers, who  might  have  died  ten  years  ago,  and  still  been  old;  the  deaf, 
the  blind,  the  lame,  the  palsied — the  living  dead,  in  many  shapes  and 
forms — to  see  the  closing  of  that  early  grave. 

Along  the  crowded  path  they  bore  her  now,  pure  as  the  newly-fallen 
snow  that  covered  it,  whose  day  on  earth  had  been  as  fleeting.  Under 
that  porch  where  she  had  sat  when  Heaven  in  its  mercy  brought  her  to 
that  peaceful  spot,  she  passed  again,  and  the  old  church  received  her 
in  its  quiet  shade. 

They  carried  her  to  one  old  nook,  where  she  had,  many  and  many  a 
time  sat  musing,  and  laid  their  burden  softly  on  the  pavement.  The 
light  streamed  on  it  through  the  colored  window, — a  window  where 
the  boughs  of  trees  were  ever  rustUng  in  the  summer,  and  where  the 
birds  sang  sweetly  all  day  long.  With  every  breath  of  air  that  stirred 
among  those  branches  in  the  sunshine,  some  trembling,  changing  Ught 
would  fall  upon  her  grave. 

Earth  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust.  Many  a  young  hand 
dropped  in  its  Httle  wreath,  many  a  stifled  sob  was  heard.  Some — and 
they  were  not  few — knelt  down.  All  were  sincere  and  truthful  in  their 
sorrow.  The  service  done,  the  mourners  stood  apart,  and  the  villagers- 
closed  round  to  look  into  the  grave,  before  the  stone  should  be  replaced. 

One  called  to  mind  how  he  had  seen  her  sitting  on  that  very  spot,  and 


NARRATIVE  AND   DESCRIPTIVE  207 

how  her  book  had  fallen  on  her  lap,  and  she  was  gazing,  with  a  pensive 
face,  upon  the  sky.  Another  told  how  he  had  wondered  much  that  one 
so  delicate  as  she  should  be  so  bold,  how  she  had  never  feared  to  enter 
the  church  alone  at  night,  but  had  loved  to  linger  there  when  all  was 
quiet,  and  even  to  climb  the  tower-stair,  with  no  more  light  than  that  of 
the  moon-rays  stealing  through  the  loopholes  in  the  thick  old  walls. 
A  whisper  went  about  among  the  oldest  there  that  she  had  seen  and 
talked  with  the  angels;  and  when  they  called  to  mind  how  she  had  looked, 
and  spoken,  and  her  early  death,  some  thought  it  might  be  so  indeed. 
Thus  coming  to  the  grave  in  little  knots,  and  glancing  down,  and 
giving  place  to  others,  and  falling  off  in  whispering  groups  of  three  or 
four,  the  church  was  cleared,  in  time,  of  all  but  the  sexton  and  the  mourn- 
ing friends.  Then,  when  the  dusk  of  evening  had  come  on,  and  not  a 
sound  disturbed  the  sacred  stillness  of  the  place:  when  the  bright 
moon  poured  in  her  light  on  tomb  and  monument,  on  pillar,  wall  and 
arch,  and  most  of  all,  it  seemed  to  them,  upon  her  quiet  grave;  in  that 
calm  time,  when  all  outward  things  and  inward  thoughts  teem  with 
assurances  of  immortality,  and  worldly  hopes  and  fears  are  humbled  in 
the  dust  before  them,  then,  with  tranquil  and  submissive  hearts  they 
turned  away,  and  left  the  child  with  God. 

HOW  THEY  BROUGHT  THE  GOOD  NEWS  FROM 

GHENT  TO  AIX 

Robert  Browning 

I. 

I  sprang  to  the  stirrup,  and  Joris,  and  he; 

I  galloped,  Dirck  galloped,  we  galloped  all  three; 

"Good  speed!"  cried  the  watch,  as  the  gate-bolts  undrew; 

"Speed!"  echoed  the  wall  to  us  galloping  through; 

Behind  shut  the  postern,  the  lights  sank  to  rest, 

And  into  the  midnight  we  galloped  abreast. 

II. 

Not  a  word  to  each  other;  we  kept  the  great  pace 
Neck  by  neck,  stride  by  stride,  never  changing  our  place; 
I  turned  in  my  saddle  and  made  its  girths  tight. 
Then  shortened  each  stirrup,  and  set  the  pique  right, 
Rebuckled  the  cheek-strap,  chained  slacker  the  bit, 
Nor  galloped  less  steadily  Roland  a  whit. 


2o8  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 


*Twas  moonset  at  starting;  but,  while  we  drew  near 

Lokeren,  the  cocks  crew,  and  twilight  dawned  clear; 

At  Boom  a  great  yellow  star  came  out  to  see; 

At  Diiffeld,  'twas  morning  as  plain  as  could  be; 

And  from  Mecheln  church-steeple  we  heard  the  half-chime, 

So  Joris  broke  silence  with,  "Yet  there  is  time!" 

IV. 

At  Aershot,  up  leaped  of  a  sudden  the  sun, 
And  against  him  the  cattle  stood  black  every  one 
To  stare  through  the  mist  at  us  galloping  past; 
And  I  saw  my  stout  galloper  Roland  at  last, 
With  resolute  shoulders,  each  butting  away 
The  haze,  as  some  bluff  river  headland  its  spray: 

V. 

And  his  low  head  and  crest,  just  one  sharp  ear  bent  back 
For  my  voice,  and  the  other  pricked  out  on  his  track; 
And  one  eye's  black  intelligence — ever  that  glance 
O'er  its  white  edge  at  me,  his  own  master,  askance! 
And  the  thick  heavy  spume-flakes  which  aye  and  anon 
His  fierce  lips  shook  upwards  in  galloping  on. 

VI. 

By  Hasselt,  Dirck  groaned;  and  cried  Joris,  "Stay  spur! 
Your  Roos  galloped  bravely,  the  fault's  not  in  her, 
We'll  remember  at  Aix" — for  one  heard  the  quick  wheeze 
Of  her  chest,  saw  the  stretched  neck  and  staggering  knees 
And  sunk  tail,  and  horrible  heave  of  the  flank, 
As  down  on  her  haunches  she  shuddered  and  sank. 

VII. 

So,  we  were  left  galloping,  Joris  and  I, 

Past  Looz  and  past  Tongres,  no  cloud  in  the  sky; 

The  broad  sun  above  laughed  a  pitiless  laugh, 

'Neath  our  feet  broke  the  brittle  bright  stubble  like  chaff; 

Till  over  by  Dalhem  a  dome-spire  sprang  white, 

And  "Gallop,"  gasped  Joris,  "for  Aix  is  in  sight! 


NARRATIVE   AND   DESCRIPTIVE  209 

viii 
"How  they'll  greet  us!" — and  all  in  a  moment  his  roan 
Rolled  neck  and  croup  over,  lay  dead  as  a  stone; 
And  there  was  my  Roland  to  bear  the  whole  weight 
Of  the  news  which  alone  could  save  Aix  from  her  fate, 
With  his  nostrils  like  pits  full  of  blood  to  the  brim, 
And  with  circles  of  red  for  his  eyesockets'  rim. 

IX. 

Then  I  cast  loose  my  buffcoat,  each  holster  let  fall. 

Shook  off  both  my  jack-boots,  let  go  belt  and  all. 

Stood  up  in  the  stirrup,  leaned,  patted  his  ear, 

Called  my  Roland  his  pet-name,  my  horse  without  peer; 

Clapped  my  hands,  laughed  and  sang,  any  noise,  bad  or  good, 

Till  at  length  into  Aix  Roland  galloped  and  stood. 

X. 

And  all  I  remember  is,  friends  flocking  round 

As  I  sat  with  his  head  'twixt  my  knees  on  the  ground; 

And  no  voice  but  was  praising  this  Roland  of  mine, 

As  I  poured  down  his  throat  our  last  measure  of  wine. 

Which  (the  burgesses  voted  by  common  consent) 

Was  no  more  than  his  due  who  brought  good  news  from  Ghent. 


THE  GRAY  CHAMPION 

Nathaniel  Hawthorne 

The  following  story  from  "Tivice-Told  Tales^'  is  one  characteristic 

of  its  author.    It  has  the  New  England  flavor  and  the  weird  element 

so  pronounced  in  Hawthorne^ s  writings.     It  would  he  well  to  look 

up  the  historical  incidents  upon  which  the  tale  is  founded. 

There  was  once  a  time  when  New  England  groaned  under  the  actual 
pressure  of  heavier  wrongs  than  those  threatened  ones  which  brought  on 
the  Revolution.  James  II.,  the  bigoted  successor  of  Charles  the  Volup- 
tuous, had  annulled  the  charters  of  all  the  colonies,  and  sent  a  harsh  and 
unprincipled  soldier  to  take  away  our  liberties  and  endanger  our  religion. 
The  administration  of  Sir  Edmund  Andros  lacked  scarcely  a  single 
characteristic  of  tyranny:  a  Governor  and  Council,  holding  office  from 
the  King  and  wholly  independent  of  the  country;  laws  made  and  taxes 


2IO  ESSENTIALS   OF   READING 

levied  without  concurrence  of  the  people,  immediate  or  by  their  repre- 
sentatives; the  rights  of  private  citizens  violated,  and  the  titles  of  all 
landed  property  declared  void;  the  voice  of  complaint  stifled  by  restrictions 
on  the  press;  and,  finally,  disaffection  overawed  by  the  first  band  of  mer- 
cenary troops  that  ever  marched  on  our  free  soil.  For  two  years  our 
ancestors  were  kept  in  sullen  submission,  by  that  filial  love  which  had 
invariably  secured  their  allegiance  to  the  mother-country,  whether  its 
head  chanced  to  be  a  Parhament,  Protector,  or  popish  Monarch.  Till 
these  evil  times,  however,  such  allegiance  had  been  merely  nominal,  and 
the  colonists  had  ruled  themselves,  enjoying  far  more  freedom  than  is 
even  yet  the  privilege  of  the  native  subjects  of  Great  Britain. 

At  length  a  rumor  reached  our  shores  that  the  Prince  of  Orange  had 
ventured  on  an  enterprise  the  success  of  which  would  be  the  triumph  of 
civil  and  rehgious  rights  and  the  salvation  of  New  England.  It  was  but 
a  doubtful  whisper;  it  might  be  false,  or  the  attempt  might  fail;  and,  in 
either  case,  the  man  that  stirred  against  King  James  would  lose  his 
head.  Still  the  intelUgence  produced  a  marked  effect.  The  people 
smiled  mysteriously  in  the  streets,  and  threw  bold  glances  at  their 
oppressors;  while  far  and  wide  there  was  a  subdued  and  silent  agitation, 
as  if  the  slightest  signal  would  rouse  the  whole  land  from  its  sluggish 
despondency.  Aware  of  their  danger,  the  rulers  resolved  to  avert  it  by 
an  imposing  display  of  strength,  and  perhaps  to  confirm  their  despotism 
by  yet  harsher  measures.  One  afternoon  in  April,  1689,  Sir  Edmund 
Andros  and  his  favorite  councillors,  being  warm  with  wine,  assembled 
the  red-coats  of  the  Governor's  Guard,  and  made  their  appearance  in 
the  streets  of  Boston.  The  sun  was  near  setting  when  the  march 
commenced. 

The  roll  of  the  driun,  at  that  unquiet  crisis,  seemed  to  go  through 
the  streets  less  as  the  martial  music  of  the  soldiers  than  as  a  muster-call 
to  the  inhabitants  themselves.  A  multitude,  by  various  avenues,  assem- 
bled in  King-street,  which  was  destined  to  be  the  scene,  nearly  a 
century  afterwards,  of  another  encounter  between  the  troops  of  Bri- 
tain and  a  people  struggUng  against  her  tyranny.  Though  more 
than  sixty  years  had  elapsed  since  the  Pilgrims  came,  this  crowd  of  their 
descendants  still  showed  the  strong  and  sombre  features  of  their  character 
perhaps  more  strikingly  in  such  a  stern  emergency  than  on  happier 
occasions.  There  were  the  sober  garb,  the  general  severity  of  mien, 
the  gloomy  but  undismayed  expression,  the  scriptural  forms  of  speech 
and  the  confidence  in  Heaven's  blessing  on  a  righteous  cause,  which 
would  have  marked  a  band  of  the  original  Puritans  when  threatened 


NARRATIVE   AND   DESCRIPTIVE  211 

by  some  peril  of  the  wilderness.  Indeed,  it  was  not  yet  time  for 
the  old  spirit  to  be  extinct;  since  there  were  men  in  the  street,  that  day 
who  had  worshipped  there  beneath  the  trees,  before  a  house  was  reared 
to  the  God  for  whom  they  had  become  exiles  Old  soldiers  of  the 
Parliament  were  here  too,  smiling  grimly  at  the  thought  that  their  aged 
arms  might  strike  another  blow  against  the  house  of  Stuart.  Here,  also, 
were  the  veterans  of  King  Philip's  war,  who  had  burned  villages  and 
slaughtered  young  and  old  with  pious  fierceness,  while  the  godly  souls 
throughout  the  land  were  helping  them  with  prayer.  Several  ministers 
were  scattered  among  the  crowd  which,  unlike  all  other  mobs  regarded 
them  with  such  reverence,  as  if  there  were  sanctity  in  their  very  garments. 
These  holy  men  exerted  their  influence  to  quiet  the  people,  but  not  to 
disperse  them.  Meantime,  the  purpose  of  the  Governor,  in  disturbing 
the  peace  of  the  town  at  a  period  when  the  slightest  commotion  might 
throw  the  country  into  a  ferment,  was  almost  the  universal  subject  of 
inquiry,  and  variously  explained. 

"Satan  will  strike  his  master-stroke  presently,"  cried  some,  "because 
he  knoweth  that  his  time  is  short.  All  our  godly  pastors  are  to  be  dragged 
to  prison!     We  shall  see  them  at  a  Sraithfield  fire  in  King-street!" 

Hereupon,  the  people  of  each  parish  gathered  closer  round  their 
minister,  who  looked  calmly  upwards  and  assumed  a  more  apostolic 
dignity,  as  well  befitted  a  candidate  for  the  highest  honor  of  his  profession, 
the  crown  of  marytrdom.  It  was  actually  fancied,  at  that  period,  that 
New  England  might  have  a  John  Rogers  of  her  own,  to  take  the  place  of 
that  worthy  in  the  Primer. 

"The  Pope  of  Rome  has  given  orders  for  a  new  St.  Bartholomew! " 
cried  others.     "We  are  to  be  massacred,  man  and  male  child!" 

Neither  was  this  rumor  wholly  discredited,  although  the  wiser  class 
believed  the  Governor's  object  somewhat  less  atrocious.  His  predecessor 
under  the  old  charter,  Bradstreet,  a  venerable  companion  of  the  first 
settlers,  was  known  to  be  in  town.  There  were  grounds  for  conjecturing 
that  Sir  Edmund  Andros  intended,  at  once,  to  strike  terror,  by  a  parade 
of  military  force,  and  to  confound  the  opposite  faction,  by  possessing 
himself  of  their  chief. 

"Stand  firm  for  the  old  charter  Governor!"  shouted  the  crowd,  seizing 
upon  the  idea.     "The  good  old  Governor  Bradstreet!" 

While  this  cry  was  at  the  loudest,  the  people  were  surprised  by  the 
well-known  figure  of  Governor  Bradstreet  himself,  a  patriarch  of  nearly 
ninety,  who  appeared  on  the  elevated  steps  of  a  door,  and,  with  char- 
acteristic mildness,  besought  them  to  submit  to  the  constituted  authorities. 


212  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

"My  children,"  concluded  this  venerable  person,  "  do  nothing  rashly. 
Cry  not  aloud,  but  pray  for  the  welfare  of  New  England,  and  expect 
patiently  what  the  Lord  will  do  in  this  matter!" 

The  event  was  soon  to  be  decided.  All  this  time,  the  roll  of  the 
drimi  had  been  approaching  through  Cornhill,  louder  and  deeper,  till 
with  reverberations  from  house  to  house,  and  the  regular  tramp  of 
martial  footsteps,  it  burst  into  the  street.  A  double  rank  of  soldiers 
made  their  appearance,  occupying  the  whole  breadth  of  the  passage, 
with  shouldered  matchlocks,  and  matches  burning,  so  as  to  present  a 
row  of  fires  in  the  dusk  Their  steady  march  was  like  the  progress  of  a 
machine  that  would  roll  irresistibly  over  everything  in  its  way.  Next, 
moving  slowly,  with  a  confused  clatter  of  hoofs  on  the  pavement,  rode  a 
party  of  mounted  gentlemen,  the  central  figure  being  Sir  Edmund  Andros, 
elderly,  but  erect  and  soldier-like  Those  around  him  were  his  favorite 
councillors,  and  the  bitterest  foes  of  New  England.  At  his  right  hand 
rode  Edward  Randolph,  our  arch-enemy,  that  "blasted  wretch,"  as 
Cotton  Mather  calls  him,  who  achieved  the  downfall  of  our  ancient 
government,  and  was  followed  with  a  sensible  curse,  through  life  and  to 
his  grave.  On  the  other  side  was  Bullivant,  scattering  jests  and  mockery 
as  he  rode  along.  Dudley  came  behind,  with  a  downcast  look,  dreading, 
as  well  he  might,  to  meet  the  indignant  gaze  of  the  people,  who  beheld 
him,  their  only  countryman  by  birth,  among  the  oppressors  of  his  native 
land.  The  captain  of  a  frigate  in  the  harbor,  and  two  or  three  civil 
officers  under  the  Crown,  were  also  there.  But  the  figure  which  most 
attracted  the  public  eye,  and  stirred  up  the  deepest  feeling,  was  the 
Episcopal  clerg3mian  of  King's  Chapel,  riding  haughtily  among  the 
magistrates  in  his  priestly  vestments,  the  fitting  representative  of  prelacy 
and  persecution,  the  union  of  church  and  state,  and  all  those  abominations 
which  had  driven  the  Puritans  to  the  wilderness.  Another  guard  of 
soldiers,  in  double  rank,  brought  up  the  rear. 

The  whole  scene  was  a  picture  of  the  condition  of  New  England;  and 
its  moral,  the  deformity  of  any  government  that  does  not  grow  out  of  the 
nature  of  things  and  the  character  of  the  people.  On  one  side,  the 
religious  multitude,  with  their  sad  visages  and  dark  attire;  and  on  the 
other,  the  group  of  despotic  rulers,  with  the  high-churchman  in  the 
midst,  and  here  and  there  a  crucifix  at  their  bosoms,  all  magnificently  clad, 
flushed  with  wine,  proud  of  unjust  authority,  and  scofl&ng  at  the  universal 
groan.  And  the  mercenary  soldiers,  waiting  but  the  word  to  deluge  the 
street  with  blood,  showed  the  only  means  by  which  obedience  could  be 
secured. 


NARRATIVE  AND   DESCRIPTIVE  213 

"O  Lord  of  Hosts,"  cried  a  voice  among  the  crowd,  "provide  a 
Champion  for  thy  people!" 

This  ejaculation  was  loudly  uttered,  and  served  as  a  herald's  cry,  to 
introduce  a  remarkable  personage.  The  crowd  had  rolled  back,  and 
were  now  huddled  together  nearly  at  the  extremity  of  the  street,  while 
the  soldiers  had  advanced  no  more  than  a  third  of  its  length.  The 
intervening  space  was  empty — a  paved  soUtude,  between  lofty  edifices 
v/hich  threw  almost  a  twilight  shadow  over  it.  Suddenly  there  was  seen 
the  figure  of  an  ancient  man,  who  seemed  to  have  emerged  from  among 
the  people,  and  was  walking  by  himself  along  the  centre  of  the  street,  to 
confront  the  armed  band.  He  wore  the  old  Puritan  dress,  a  dark  cloak 
and  a  steeple-crowned  hat,  in  the  fashion  of  at  least  fifty  years  before, 
with  a  heavy  sword  upon  his  thigh,  but  a  stafif  in  his  hand,  to  assist  the 
tremulous  gait  of  age. 

When  at  some  distance  from  the  multitude,  the  old  man  turned  slowly 
round,  displaying  a  face  of  antique  majesty,  rendered  doubly  venerable 
by  the  hoary  beard  that  descended  on  his  breast.  He  made  a  gesture  at 
once  of  encouragement  and  warning,  then  turned  again  and  resumed  his 
way. 

"Who  is  this  gray  patriarch  ?"  asked  the  young  men  of  their  sires. 

"Who  is  this  venerable  brother?"  asked  the  old  men  among  themselves. 

But  none  could  make  reply.  The  fathers  of  the  people,  those  of 
fourscore  years  and  upwards,  were  disturbed,  deeming  it  strange  that 
they  should  forget  one  of  such  evident  authority,  whom  they  must  have 
known  in  their  early  days,  the  associate  of  Winthrop,  and  all  the  old 
Councillors,  giving  laws  and  making  prayers,  and  leading  them  against 
the  savage.  The  elderly  men  ought  to  have  remembered  him,  too,  with 
locks  as  gray  in  their  youth  as  their  own  were  now.  And  the  young! 
How  could  he  have  passed  so  utterly  from  their  memories — that  hoary 
sire,  the  relic  of  long-departed  times,  whose  awful  benediction  had  surely 
been  bestowed  on  their  uncovered  heads  in  childhood  ? 

"Whence  did  he  come?  What  is  his  purpose?  Who  can  this  old 
man  be?"  whispered  the  wondering  crowd. 

Meanwhile,  the  venerable  stranger,  stafif  in  hand,  was  pursuing  his 
solitary  walk  along  the  centre  of  the  street.  As  he  drew  near  the  advanc- 
ing soldiers,  and  as  the  roll  of  their  drum  came  full  upon  his  ear,  the  old 
man  raised  himself  to  a  loftier  mien,  while  the  decrepitude  of  age  seemed 
to  fall  from  his  shoulders,  leaving  him  in  gray  but  unbroken  dignity. 
Now  he  marched  onward  with  a  warrior's  step,  keeping  time  to  the 
military  music.     Thus  the  aged  form  advanced  on  one  side,  and  the 


214  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

whole  parade  of  soldiers  and  magistrates  on  the  other,  till,  when  scarcely 
twenty  yards  remained  between,  the  old  man  grasped  his  staff  by  the 
middle,  and  held  it  before  him  like  a  leader's  truncheon. 

"Stand!"  cried  he. 

The  eye,  the  face,  and  attitude  of  command;  the  solemn  yet  war-like 
peal  of  that  voice,  fit  either  to  rule  a  host  in  the  battle-field  or  be  raised 
to  God  in  prayer,  were  irresistible.  At  the  old  man's  word  and  out- 
stretched arm,  the  roll  of  the  drum  was  hushed  at  once,  and  the  advancing 
Une  stood  still.  A  tremulous  enthusiasm  seized  upon  the  multitude. 
That  stately  form,  combining  the  leader  and  the  saint,  so  gray,  so  dimly 
seen,  in  such  an  ancient  garb,  could  only  belong  to  some  old  champion 
of  the  righteous  cause,  whom  the  oppressor's  drum  had  summoned  from 
his  grave.  They  raised  a  shout  of  awe  and  exultation,  and  looked  for 
the  deliverance  of  New  England. 

The  Governor,  and  the  gentlemen  of  his  party,  perceiving  themselves 
brought  to  an  unexpected  stand,  rode  hastily  forward,  as  if  they  would 
have  pressed  their  snorting  and  affrighted  horses  right  against  the  hoary 
apparition.  He,  however,  blenched  not  a  step,  but  glancing  his  severe 
eye  round  the  group,  which  half  encompassed  him,  at  last  bent  it  sternly 
on  Sir  Edmund  Andros.  One  would  have  thought  that  the  dark  old 
man  was  chief  ruler  there,  and  that  the  Governor  and  Council,  with 
soldiers  at  their  back,  representing  the  whole  power  and  authority  of  the 
Crown,  had  no  alternative  but  obedience. 

"What  does  this  old  fellow  here?"  cried  Edward  Randolph,  fiercely. 
'On,  Sir  Edmund!  Bid  the  soldiers  forward,  and  give  the  dotard  the 
same  choice  that  you  give  all  his  countrymen — to  stand  aside  or  be 
trampled  on!" 

"Nay,  nay,  let  us  show  respect  to  the  good  grandsire,"  said  BulHvant, 
laughing.  "See  you  not,  he  is  some  old  round-headed  dignitary  who 
hath  lain  asleep  these  thirty  years  and  knows  nothing  of  the  change  of 
times?  Doubtless,  he  thinks  to  put  us  down  with  a  proclamation  in 
Old  Noll's  name!" 

"Are  you  mad,  old  man?"  demanded  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  in  loud 
and  harsh  tones.  "How  dare  you  stay  the  march  of  King  James's 
Governor?" 

"I  have  staid  the  march  of  a  King  himself,  ere  now,"  replied  the  gray 
figure,  with  stern  composure. 

"I  am  here,  Sir  Governor,  because  the  cry  of  an  oppressed  people  hath 
disturbed  me  in  my  secret  place;  and  beseeching  this  favor  earnestly  of 
the  Lord,  it  was  vouchsafed  me  to  appear  once  again  on  earth,  in  the 


NARRATIVE  AND   DESCRIPTIVE  215 

good  old  cause  of  his  saints.  And  what  speak  ye  of  James  ?  There  is 
no  longer  a  popish  tyrant  on  the  throne  of  England,  and  by  to-morrow 
noon  his  name  shall  be  a  by-word  in  this  very  street  where  ye  would  make 
it  a  word  of  terror.  Back,  thou  that  wast  a  Governor,  back!  With  this 
night  thy  power  is  ended — to-morrow,  the  prison! — back,  lest  I  foretell 
the  scaffold!" 

The  people  had  been  drawing  nearer  and  nearer,  and  drinking  in  the 
words  of  their  champion,  who  spoke  in  accents  long  disused,  like  one 
unaccustomed  to  converse,  except  with  the  dead  of  many  years  ago. 
But  his  voice  stirred  their  souls.  They  confronted  the  soldiers,  not 
wholly  without  arms,  and  ready  to  convert  the  very  stones  of  the  street 
into  deadly  weapons.  Sir  Edmund  Andros  looked  at  the  old  man;  then 
he  cast  his  hard  and  cruel  eye  over  the  multitude,  and  beheld  them  burn- 
ing with  that  lurid  wrath,  so  difficult  to  kindle  or  to  quench;  and  again  he 
fixed  his  gaze  on  the  aged  form,  which  stood  obscurely  in  an  open  space, 
where  neither  friend  nor  foe  had  thrust  himself.  What  were  his  thoughts, 
he  uttered  no  word  which  might  discover.  But  whether  the  oppressor 
were  overawed  by  the  Gray  Champion's  look,  or  perceived  his  peril  in 
the  threatening  attitude  of  the  people,  it  is  certain  that  he  gave  back, 
and  ordered  his  soldiers  to  commence  a  slow  and  guarded  retreat.  Before 
another  sunset,  the  Governor,  and  all  that  rode  so  proudly  with  him, 
were  prisoners,  and  long  ere  it  was  known  that  James  had  abdicated, 
King  William  was  proclaimed  throughout  New  England. 

But  where  was  the  Gray  Champion?  Some  reported  that  when  the 
troops  had  gone  from  King-street  and  the  people  were  thronging  tumult- 
uously  in  their  rear,  Bradstreet,  the  aged  Governor,  was  seen  to  embrace 
a  form  more  aged  than  his  own.  Others  soberly  affirmed  that  while 
they  marvelled  at  the  venerable  grandeur  of  his  aspect,  the  old  man  had 
faded  from  their  eyes,  melting  slowly  into  the  hues  of  twilight,  till,  where 
he  stood,  there  was  an  empty  space.  But  all  agreed  that  the  hoary 
shape  was  gone.  The  men  of  that  generation  watched  for  his  reappear- 
ance, in  sunshine  and  in  twilight,  but  never  saw  him  more,  nor  knew 
when  his  funeral  passed,  nor  where  his  gravestone  was. 

And  who  was  the  Gray  Champion?  Perhaps  his  name  might  be 
found  in  the  records  of  that  stern  Court  of  Justice  which  passed  a  sentence 
too  mighty  for  the  age,  but  glorious  in  all  after-times  for  its  humbling 
lesson  to  the  monarch  and  its  high  example  to  the  subject.  I  have 
heard  that  whenever  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans  are  to  show  the 
spirit  of  their  sires,  the  old  man  appears  again.  When  eighty  years  had 
passed   he  walked  once  more  in  King-street.     Five  years  later,  in  the 


2i6  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

twilight  of  an  April  morning,  he  stood  on  the  green,  beside  the  meeting- 
house, at  Lexington,  where  now  the  obelisk  of  granite,  with  a  slab  of  slate 
inlaid,  commemorates  the  first  fallen  of  the  Revolution.  And  when  our 
fathers  were  toiling  at  the  breastwork  on  Bunker's  Hill,  all  through  that 
night  the  old  warrior  walked  his  rounds.  Long,  long  may  it  be  ere  he 
comes  again!  His  hour  is  one  of  darkness,  and  adversity,  and  peril. 
But  should  domestic  tyranny  oppress  us,  or  the  invader's  step  pollute 
our  soil,  still  may  the  Gray  Champion  come:  for  he  is  the  type  of  New 
England's  hereditary  spirit,  and  his  shadowy  march,  on  the  eve  of  danger, 
must  ever  be  the  pledge  that  New  England's  sons  will  vindicate  their 
ancestry. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
HUMOROUS 

A  CURTAIN  LECTURE 
Douglas  Jerrold 

Well,  that's  the  third  umbrella  gone  since  Christmas.  What  were  you 
to  do  ?  Why,  let  him  go  home  in  the  rain,  to  be  sure.  I  am  very  certain 
he  wouldn't  spoil.  Take  cold  indeed?  He  doesn't  look  like  one  of 
the  sort  to  take  cold.  Besides  he'd  have  better  taken  cold  than  taken 
our  imibrella. 

Do  you  hear  the  rain,  Mr.  Caudle  ?  I  say,  do  you  hear  the  rain  ? 
And,  as  I'm  alive,  if  it  isn't  St.  Swithin's  day!  Do  you  hear  it  against 
the  windows?  Nonsense!  you  don't  impose  upon  me;  you  can't  be 
asleep  with  such  a  shower  as  that.  Do  you  hear  it  I  say  ?  O,  you  do 
hear  it?  Well,  that's  a  pretty  flood,  I  think  to  last  six  weeks;  and  no 
stirring  all  the  time  out  of  the  house.  Pooh!  don't  think  me  a  fool,  Mr. 
Caudle;  don't  insult  me;  he  return  the  umbrella!  Anybody  would 
think  you  were  born  yesterday.  As  if  anybody  ever  did  return  an 
umbrella! 

There,  do  you  hear  it?  Worse  and  worse.  Cats  and  dogs,  and  for 
six  weeks:  always  six  weeks;  and  no  umbrella.  I  should  like  to  know 
how  the  children  are  to  go  to  school  tomorrow.  They  shan't  go  through 
such  weather;  I  am  determined.  No,  they  shall  stop  at  home  and 
never  learn  anything,  (the  blessed  creatures)  sooner  than  go  and  get  wet. 
And  when  they  grow  up,  I  wonder  who  they'll  have  to  thank  for  knowing 
nothing;  who,  indeed,  but  their  father?  People  who  can't  feel  for  their 
own  children  ought  never  to  be  fathers. 

But  I  know  why  you  lent  the  umbrella;  oh,  yes  I  know  very  well.  I 
was  going  out  to  tea  at  dear  mother's  tomorrow;  you  knew  that,  and 
you  did  it  on  purpose.  Don't  tell  me!  you  hate  to  have  me  go  there  and 
take  every  mean  advantage  to  hinder  me.  But  don't  you  think  it,  Mr. 
Caudle;  no,  sir;  if  it  comes  down  in  buckets  full,  I'll  go  all  the  more. 
No  and  I  won't  have  a  cab!  Where  do  you  think  the  money's  to  come 
from?    You've  got  nice  high  notions  at  that  club  of  yours! 

A  cab,  indeed!  Cost  me  sixteen-pence  at  least.  Sixteen-pence! 
two — and  eight-pence;  for  there's  back  again.     Cabs,  indeed!     I  should 

217 


2iB  ESSENTIALS  OF  READING 

like  to  know  who's  to  pay  for  'em;  for  I'm  sure  you  can't  if  you  go  on 
as  you  do,  throwing  away  your  property,  and  beggaring  your  children, 
buying  umbrellas. 

Do  you  hear  the  rain,  Mr.  Caudle?  I  say  do  you  hear  it?  But  I 
don't  care,  I'll  go  to  mother's  tomorrow,  I  will;  and  whats  more,  I'll 
walk  every  step  of  the  way;  and  you  know  that  will  give  me  my  death. 
Don't  call  me  a  foolish  woman;  its  you  that's  a  foolish  man. 

You  know  I  can't  wear  clogs;  and  with  no  umbrella,  the  wet's  sure  to 
give  me  a  cold;  it  always  does;  but  what  do  you  care  for  that?  Nothing 
at  all.  I  may  be  laid  up  for  what  you  care,  as  I  dare  say  I  shall;  and  a 
pretty  doctor's  bill  there'll  be.  I  hope  there  will.  It  will  teach  you  to 
lend  your  imibrellas  again.  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  I  caught  my  death; 
yes,  and  that's  what  you  lent  the  umbrella  for.     Of  course. 

Nice  clothes  I  get  too,  traipsing  through  weather  like  this.  My 
gown  and  bonnet  will  be  spoiled  quite.  Needn't  wear  'em  then?  In- 
deed, Mr.  Caudle,  I  shall  wear  'em.  No,  sir;  I'm  not  going  out  a  dowdy, 
to  please  you,  or  anybody  else.  Gracious  knows!  it  isn't  often  that  I 
step  over  the  threshold;  indeed  I  might  as  well  be  a  slave  at  once;  better 
I  should  say;  but  when  I  do  go  out,  Mr.  Caudle,  I  choose  to  go  as  a 
lady. 

O,  that  rain — if  it  isn't  enough  to  break  in  the  windows!  Ugh!  I 
look  forward  with  dread  for  tomorrow.  How  I  am  to  go  to  mother's, 
I  am  sure  I  can't  tell;  but  if  I  die,  I'll  do  it.  No,  sir;  I  won't  borrow 
an  umbrella — no,  and  you  shant  buy  one.  Mr.  Caudle,  if  you  bring 
home  another  umbrella,  I'll  throw  it  into  the  street.  Ha!  and  it  was 
only  last  week,  I  had  a  new  nozzle  put  on  that  umbrella.  I'm  sure  if 
I'd  have  known  as  much  as  I  do  now,  it  might  have  gone  without  one. 
Paying  for  new  nozzles  for  other  people  to  laugh  at  you. 

O,  it's  all  very  well  for  you;  you  can  go  to  sleep.  You've  no  thought 
of  your  poor  patient  wife,  and  your  own  dear  children;  you  think  of 
nothing  but  lending  umbrellas!  Men,  indeed! — call  themselves  lords 
of  creation!  pretty  lords,  when  they  can't  even  take  care  of  an  umbrella! 

I  know  that  walk  tomorrow  will  be  the  death  of  me.  But  that's  what 
you  want:  then  you  may  go  to  your  club,  and  do  as  you  like;  and  then 
nicely  my  poor,  dear  children  will  be  used — but  then  sir,  then  you'll  be 
happy.  Yes,  when  your  poor,  patient  wife  is  dead  and  gone,  then 
you'll  marry  that  mean  little  widow  Quilp,  I  know  you  will. 


HUMOROUS  219 


WHITEWASHING  THE  FENCE 
Mark  Twain 

In  this  extract  from  "Tom  Sawyer"  Tom  is  shown  in  a  dilemma.  He 
wants  to  go  swimming,  but  he  must  whitewash  the  fence.  At  first  he 
fears  the  ridicule  of  the  boys,  hut  he  hits  upon  a  plan. 

One  of  the  boys,  Ben  Rogers,  comes  by  and  pauses,  eating  a  particular- 
ly fine  apple.  Tom  does  not  see  him.  Ben  stares  a  moment,  and  then 
says: 

"Hi-yi!  you're  up  a  stump,  ain't  you?" 

No  answer.  Tom  surveyed  his  last  touch  with  the  eye  of  an  artist, 
then  he  gave  another  gentle  sweep,  and  surveyed  the  result  as  before. 
Ben  ranged  up  alongside  of  him.  Tom's  mouth  watered  for  the  apple, 
but  he  stuck  to  his  work.     Ben  said : 

"Hello,  old  chap,  you  got  to  work,  hey?" 

"Why,  it's  you,  Ben;  I  wasn't  noticing." 

"Say,  I'm  going  in  a-swimming,  I  am.  Don't  you  wish  you  could? 
But  of  course  you'd  ruther  work,  wouldn't  you?     Course  you  wouldl" 

Tom  comtemplated  the  boy  a  bit  and  said: 

"  What  do  you  call  work  ?" 

"Why,  ain't  that  work?" 

Tom  resumed  his  whitewashing  and  answered,  carelessly : 

"Well,  may  be  it  is,  and  may  be  it  ain't.  All  I  know  is,  it  suits  Tom 
Sawyer." 

"Oh,  come  now,  you  don't  mean  to  let  on  that  you  like  it?" 

The  brush  continued  to  move. 

"Like  it?  Well,  I  don't  see  why  I  oughtn't  to  like  it.  Does  a  boy 
get  a  chance  to  whitewash  a  fence  every  day?" 

That  put  the  thing  in  a  new  light.  Ben  stopped  nibbling  his  apple. 
Tom  swept  his  brush  daintily  back  and  forth — stepped  back  to  note  the 
effect — added  a  touch  here  and  there — criticised  the  effect  again,  Ben 
watching  every  move,  and  getting  more  and  more  interested,  more  and 
more  absorbed.     Presently  he  said: 

"Say,  Tom,  let  me  whitewash  a  little." 

Tom  considered,  was  about  to  consent, — but  he  altered  his  mind. 

"No,  no;  I  reckon  it  wouldn't  hardly  do,  Ben.  You  see.  Aunt  Polly's 
awful  particular  about  this  fence, — right  here  on  the  street,  you  know, — 
but  if  it  was  the  back  fence  I  wouldn't  mind,  and  she  wouldn't.  Yes, 
she's  awful  particular  about  this  fence;  it's  got  to  be  done  very  careful. 


220  ESSENTIALS   OF  READING 

I  reckon  there  ain't  one  boy  in  a  thousand,  maybe  two  thousand,  that 
can  do  it  in  the  way  it's  got  to  be  done. 

"No, — is  that  so?  Oh,  come  now;  lemme  just  try,  only  just  a  little. 
I'd  let  you,  if  you  was  me,  Tom." 

"Ben,  I'd  Uke  to,  honest  Injun;  but  Aunt  Polly — well,  Jim  wanted  to 
do  it,  but  she  wouldn't  let  him.  Sid  wanted  to  do  it,  but  she  wouldn't 
let  Sid.  Now  don't  you  see  how  I'm  fixed?  If  you  was  to  tackle  this 
fence,  and  anything  was  to  happen  to  it — " 

"Oh,  shucks!  I'll  be  just  as  careful.  Now  lemme  try.  Say —  I'll 
give  you  the  core  of  my  apple." 

"Well,  here.     No,  Ben;  now  don't;  I'm  afeard — " 

"I'll  give  you  all  of  it!" 

Tom  gave  up  the  brush  with  reluctance  in  his  face  but  alacrity  in  his 
heart.  And  while  Ben  worked  and  sweated  in  the  sun,  the  retired  artist 
sat  on  a  barrel  in  the  shade  close  by,  dangling  his  legs,  munched 
his  apple,  and  planned  the  slaughter  of  more  innocents.  There  was  no 
lack  of  material;  boys  happened  along  every  little  while;  they  came  to 
jeer,  but  remained  to  whitewash*  By  the  time  Ben  was  fagged  out, 
Tom  had  traded  the  next  chance  to  Billy  Fisher  for  a  kite  in  good  repair; 
and  when  he  played  out,  Johnny  Miller  bought  it  for  a  dead  rat  and  a 
string  to  swing  it  with;  and  so  on,  and  so  on,  hour  after  hour.  And  when 
the  middle  of  the  afternoon  came,  from  being  a  poor,  poverty-stricken  boy 
in  the  morning,  Tom  was  literally  rolling  in  wealth.  He  had,  besides  the 
things  I  have  mentioned,  twelve  marbles,  part  of  a  Jew's  harp,  a  piece  of 
blue  bottle-glass  to  look  through,  a  spool  cannon,  a  key  that  wouldn't 
unlock  anything,  a  fragment  of  chalk,  a  glass  stopper  of  a  decanter,  a 
tin  soldier,  a  couple  of  tadpoles,  six  fire-crackers,  a  kitten  with  only  one 
eye,  a  brass  door-knob,  a  dog-collar, — but  no  dog, — the  handle  of  a 
knife,  four  pieces  of  orange-peel,  and  a  dilapidated  old  window  sash.  He 
had  had  a  nice,  good,  idle  time  all  the  while — plenty  of  company — and 
the  fence  had  three  coats  of  whitewash  on  it!  If  he  hadn't  run  out  of 
whitewash,  he  would  have  bankrupted  every  boy  in  the  village. 

Tom  said  to  himself  that  it  was  not  such  a  hollow  world  after  all.  He 
had  discovered  a  great  law  of  human  action  without  knowing  it,  namely, 
that  in  order  to  make  a  man  or  a  boy  covet  a  thing,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  make  it  difficult  to  attain. 


INDEX 


"  Abraham  Lincoln,"  Fowler,  i8o 

Accent  and  emphasis,  139 

Acting,  34 

Action,  child's  love  of,  80 

Allegory,  53 

Alphabet  method,  'j'j 

Alternating  program,  105 

Aspirate,  definition,  1 52 
exercise,  158 
assigned  work,  102 

Assignment,  "  The  Lark  and  the 
Farmer,"  103 
model,  103 
of  lesson,  99 
of  lesson,  careless,  9 
"Village  Blacksmith,"  103 

Analysis  of  pitch  and  melody 
28 

of  words  in  primary  read- 
ing, 86 

Apostrophe,  57 

Arnold,  Matthew,  quoted,  59 

Articulation,  150 

aspirate,  152, 158 

b,  153 

bs,  158 

ch, 155 

commerical  value,  150 

d,  154 

dentals,  152,  154 

ds,  158 

example,  150 


22 


Articulation,  exercises,  153 

f.  153 

g.  156 
g.or  j,  155 
g,  or  k,  1 56 
gs,  158 

h,  158 

hard  combinations,  158 

J,  org.  155 
k,  or  g,  156 
ks,  or  X,  159 

1.157 

labials,  152,  153 

liquids,  152,  157 

long  words,  160 

m,  154 

method  of  instruction,  152 

n,  157 

nasals,  152,  157 

ng,  157 

P,  153 

palatals,  152,  156 

ps,  159 

r.  158 

review   and    suggestions, 

165 
outline,  164 
s.  155 
s,  or  z,  155 
sh,  156 

similax  sounds,  161 
St,  159 
I 


222 


INDEX 


Articulation,  systematic  exer- 
cises, 151 

t.  154 
th,  156 

V,  154 
w,  154 
wh,  159 
X,  or  ks,  159 

y,  157 

z,  ors,  155 

zh,  160 
Atmosphere,  examples  of,  45 

of  a  selection,  45 
"Barbara  Frietchie,"  15,  36,  185 
"  Barefoot  Boy,"  quoted,  44 
Barrie,  quoted,  72 
"  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic," 

9 

Bennett,  Harry  Holcomb,  quot- 
ed, 38 

"  Black  Sheep,"  dramatized,  93 

Book  as  an  obstacle,  124 

Browning,  'How  They  Brought 
the  Good  News  from  Ghent  to 
Aix,"  207 

Browning,  quoted,  63 

Bryan,  "Power  and  Worth  of 
Character,"  173 

Bryant,  quoted,  59 

Busy  work  in  primary  reading, 

84 
Byron,  quoted,  42 
Careless  assignment  of  lesson,  9 
"  Chambered  Nautilus,"  quoted, 

60 
Character,  effects  of,  65 
Chicago  Tribune,  quoted,  150 
"  Chicken  Little,"  136 
Circumstance,  commonplace,  5 
Circumflex  inflection,  28 

inflection  and  contrast,  24 


Classification  of  Material,  108 
of  material,  outline  120 
of  material,    review    and 
suggestions,  121 
Commonplace  circumstance,  5 
Completeness,  momentary  29 
Contrast,  and  circumflex  inflec- 
tion, 24 

emphasis  24 
Conversation,  melody  in,  26 
"Cortin',The,"68 
Correct  habits,  20 
"  Count  Gismond,"  quoted,  63 
Course  in  primary  reading,  88 
"  Crossing  the  Bar,"  30 
Cumnock,  Prof.,  incident,  44 
"  Curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  part- 
ing day,"  2,  175 
"Curtain  Lecture,"  Jerrold,  217 
"  Death  of  Little  Nell,"  Dickens, 

202 
Declaiming,  34 
Degree,  effects  of,  66 
Dentals,  definition,  152 

exercises,  154 
Desire  to  read,  80 
Development  of  new  ideas,  100 
Dialect  selections,  68 
Dickens,  "Death  of  Little  Nell," 

202 
Dickens,  quoted,  6,  72 
Dictionary,  abbreviations,  145 

definitions,  loi 

how  to  use,  146 

Italian  'a,'  143 

key  to  symbols,  141 

long  sounds,  143 

prefixes  and  suffixes,  145 

rules  for  spelling,  145 

short  o,  144 

short  vowels,  143.  ^44 

study  of  alphabet,  142 


INDEX 


223 


Dictionary,  suspended  bar,  143 
table  of  contents,  141 
use  of,  140 
use  of,  outline,  148 
use  of,  review  and  sug- 
gestion, 149 
Didactic  and  moral  selections, 

169 
Difiference  between  declaiming 

and  reading,  35 
Directions,  mechanical,  8 
Discipline  and  melody,  26 
Divisions  of  reading  recitations, 

98 
Division    of  recitation  and  as- 
signment of    lesson,    outline, 
106 

review    and    suggestions, 
106 
Division  of  room,  104 
"  Don't  know  line.  The,"  113 
Dramatic  selections,  184 
Dramatization,  "Black  Sheep," 

93 

"Flower  Girl,  The,"  91 
"Lady  Moon,"  90 
"Little  Boy  Blue,"  90 
"  Little  Red  Hen,  The,"  94 
"Milk-maid,  The,"  91 
"  Monologue  and,"  93 
"Neighbors,  The,"  91 
in  primary  reading,  89 
"Three  Crows,  The,"  93 
"Three  Kittens,  The,"  92 
"Willy  Boy,"  91 

Eclectic  Method,  80 

Effects,  63 

classified,  65,  66 
defined,  64 
exercises,  67,  72 
of  character,  65 


Effects,  of  degree,  66 
of  incident,  65 
of  kind,  66 
of  mood,  65 
outline,  73 
review    and    suggestions, 

73 
"Elegy   Written  in  a  Country 

Churchyard,"  46,  175 
Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps,  quoted, 

29 
Emerson,  quoted,  41 
Emotion,  and  emphasis,  139 

determines  quality,  40 
Emotional  words,  102 
Emphasis,  and  accent,  139 

and  emotion,  139 

and  grouping,  15 

and  main  idea,  22 

and  new  ideas,  23 

and  personal  pronouns,  23 

example  of,  25 

of  contrast,  139 

too  many  words,  24 
Examples,  atmosphere,  45 

effects,  63,  64,  65,  66,  ()^ 

emphasis,  24,  128,  133, 135 

force,  37,  38 

grouping,  15,  16,  17 

melody,   25,  27,   30,   128, 
133.  135 

quality,  41,  42,  43.  44.  45. 
46 

time,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  10,  11 

types,  51,  52,  58,  59,  60 
Exercises,  effects,  68-73 

figures,  58,  59 

grouping,  15 

obstacles  to  good  expres- 
sion, 131 
Experiential  words,  io2 


224 


INDEX 


Expression,  and  questions,  22, 

obstacles  to  good,  122 
Expressive    reading,    time     to 

begin,  20 
Eye,  training  the,  118 
Fables,  54 

Falling  inflection,  27,  30 
Figures,  of  speech,  52 

allegory,  53 

apostrophe,  57 

exercises,  57 

fables,  54 

metaphor,  52 

metonymy,  56 

parables,  54 

personification,  56 

simile,  53 

synecdoche,  56 
Final  stress,  35 
"  Flag  Goes  By,  The,"  38 
"  Flower  Girl,  The,"  dramatized, 

91 
Force,  34 

emphasis,  139 
examples,  37 
outline  of,  39 
Foreign-born  child  and  time,  9 
Fowler,  Chas.,  "Abraham   Lin- 
coln," 180 
Function  of  melody,  19 

of  reading,  35 
"  Gettysburg  Address,"  Lincoln, 

179 
Grammar     grade     pupil      and 

groups,  14 
Good  expression,  how  to  get,  20 

obstacles  to,  122 
"Glaucus  and  the  Lion,"  Bul- 

wer  Lytton,  191 
Grady,  "The  Southern  Soldier," 
181 


"  Gray  Champion,"  Hawthorne, 

209 
Gray,  "Elegy  Written  in  a  Coun- 
try Churchyard,"  175 
Gray,  quoted,  46 
Groups  and  grammar  grade  pu- 
pil, 14 

and  inflection,  14 

and  intermediate    pupils, 
U 

and  primary  pupils,  14 

words  in,  13 
Grouping,  13 

and  emphasis,  15 

and  liberty  of  thought,  1 5 

and  punctuation,  13 

and  thought,  13 

exercise,  15 

marking,  16 

purpose  of,  13 

rules,  15 

Guerber,  H.  A.,  quoted,  37 
Habits,  correct,  20 
Harry  Holcomb  Bennett,  quoted, 

38 
Hawthorne,  "The  Gray  Cham- 
pion," 209 
Hawthorne,  quoted,  72 
Heath  Readers,  quoted,  37 
High  key,  28 
Holmes,  quoted,  41,  60 
"House  that  Jack  Built,"  132 
Howe,  Julia  Ward,  quoted,  10 
How   They  Brought  the  Good 
News    from    Ghent    to    Aix, 
Browning,  207 
How  to  get  good  expression,  20 
Hugo,  Victor,  quoted,  44,  72 
Humorous  selections,  217 
"  Ichabod  Crane,"  Irving,  200 
Idea,  main,  19 


INDEX 


225 


Ideals,  wrong,  children's,  123 
Ideas,  development  of  new,  100 

succession  of,  29 
"  I  galloped,  Dirck  galloped,"  5 
Illustrative  Lessons,  132 
Imitation,    in    acting    and    de- 
claiming, 35 

of  teacher,  22 
Importance    of    mechanics    of 

reading,  3 
"Importance   of  Teaching  and 
Value  of  Right  Ideals,"  Roose- 
velt, 169 
Importance  of  thought  in  read- 
ing, 3 
Incident,  effects  of,  65 
Inference,  64 
Inflection,  and  groups,  14 

at  end  of  sentence,  26 

circumflex,  28 

circumflex  and  contrast,  24 

falling,  28 

rising,  28 
Initiative  in  study,  112 
Intermediate  pupil  and  groups, 

14 
Interpreting  melody,  27 
Irony,  27 
Irving,  "  Ichabod  Crane,    200 

quoted,  72 
Jerrold,  "A  Curtain  Lecture,"  217 
"John  Adams'  Speech,"  7 
Julia  Ward  Howe,  quoted,  10 
Kind,  effects  of,  66 
Key,  28 

"Knights'  Chorus,"  45 
Knowledge    of    mechanics    of 

reading,  3 
Labials,  definition,  152 

exercises,  153 
"Lady  Moon,"  dramatized,  90 


"Lady  of  Shalott,"  Tennyson, 
196 

"  L'Allegro,"  quoted,  45 

Language   exercises    as    obsta- 
cles, 129 

"  Lark  and  the  Farmer,"  assign- 
ment, 103 

"  Larks'  Nest,"  The,  25 

Largeness  of  thought,  4 

Length  of  lesson,  100 

Lesson,  assignment  of,  99 

careless  assignment  of,  9 
illustrative,  132 
length  of,  100 
selection  of.  99 
unity,  23 

"Liberty  and  Union,"  182 

Liberty  of  thought,  1 5 

Lincoln,  quoted,  42 

Lincoln,  "  Gettysburg  Address," 
179 

Liquids,  definition,  1 52 
exercises,  157 

Lists  of  words  as  obstacles,  129 

"  Little  Boy  Blue,"  dramatized,  90 

"  Little  Nell,  Death  of,"  5,  202 

"Little  Red  Hen,"  dramatized, 
94 

"Lochinvar,"  Scott,  184 

Longfellow,  quoted,  16,  58 

Longfellow,      "  Paul     Revere's 
Ride,"  187 

Look  and  say  method,  31 

Looking  for  main  ideas,  22 

Lowell,  quoted,  7,  73 

Low  key,  28 

McDonald,  quoted,  72 

Main  idea,  19 

and  emphasis,  19 
looking  for,  4 

Marietta  HoUey,  quoted,  5 


226 


INDEX 


Marking  groups,  i6 

Mark    Twain,    "  Whitewashing 

the  Fence,"  219 
Material,  classification  of,  108 

difficult,  113 

for  quick  reading,  iii 

for  repeated  reading,  no 

for  sight  reading,  115 

for  thorough  study,  108 

interest,  109 

kinds,  108 

quantity,  116 
McMurray,  Frank,  quoted,  112 
Mechanical    difficulty,    as     ob- 
stacle, 124 
Mechanical  directions,  8 
Mechanical  teacher,  13 
Mechanics  of  reading,  3 

knowledge  of,  3 
Median  stress,  35 
Melody,  19 

analysis,  28 

and  motive,  27 

and  discipline,  27 

function,  19 

in  conversation,  26 

interpreting,  28 

motive  necessary,  27 
Mental  attitude,  126 
Mental  energy,  35 
Metaphor,  52 
Method,  alphabet,  ^^ 

eclectic,  80 

phonic,  78 

sentence,  79 

word,  79 
Metonymy,  56 

"  Milk-maid,"  dramatized,  91 
Milton,  quoted,  45 
"  Mine    eyes    have     seen    the 
glory,"  10 


Model  assignment,  103 
Momentary  completeness,  29 
Monologue  and  dramatization,  93 
Mood,  eflfects  of,  65 
Mother  Goose's  rhymes,  4 
Motive,  and  melody,  26 
of  speaker,  19,  29 
Movement  of  voice,  19 
Narrative  and  descriptive  selec- 
tions, 196 
Nasals,  definition,  152 

exercises,  157 
Nationality  and  time,  9 
"  Neighbors,"  dramatized,  91 
New  ideas,  and  emphasis,  23 

development,  100 
New  words,  development  of,  100 

too  many,  9 
Number    lessons,  as  obstacles, 

127 
Obstacles   to  good    expression, 
122 

book,  the,  124 
language  exercises,  129 
lists  of  words,  129 
mechanical      difficulties, 

124 
mental  attitude,  126,  127 
number  lessons,  127 
principles  of  oral  reading, 
127 

relation  of  words,  125 

review  and  suggestion,  130 

outline,  130 
Oral  reading,  principles  of,  127 
Oratorical  selections,  179 
Order    of   sounds    in    primary 

reading,  87 
Outline,  articulation,  164 

classification  of  material, 
120 


INDEX 


227 


Outline,  division  of  recitation 
and  assignment  of  les- 
son, 106 

effects,  73 

force,  39 

grouping,  18 

melody,  32 

obstacles  to  good  expres- 
sion, 130 

primary  reading,  q6 

quality,  46 

time,  II 

types,  61 

use  of  dictionary,  148 
Parables,  54 
Palatals,  definition,  152 

exercises,  156 
Patronizing  melody,  26 
"Paul  Revere's  Ride,"  Longfel- 
low, 187 
Pauses,  13 
Personification,  56 
Phelps,      Elizabeth      Stuart, 

quoted,  29 
Phonic  method,  78 
Phonics,  85 
Phrases,  poetic,  102 
Pitch,  19 

analysis,  28 
Poetic  words,  102 
"Power  and  Worth  of  Charac- 
ter," Bryan,  173 
Primary  pupil  and  groups,  14 
Primary  reading,  'j'j 

aims,  80 

analysis  of  words,  86 

busy,  work,  84 

course,  88 

desire  to  read,  81 

dramatization,  89 

order  of  sounds,  87 


Primary  reading,  outline,  96 

phonics,  85 

principles,  80 

review  and  suggestion,  96 

script  to  print,  87 

sentences,  83 

words,  81 

writing  in,  84 
Primary  slide,  87 
Principles,  of  oral  reading,  127 

of  primary  reading,  80 
Print,    transition    from     script, 

87 

Program,  alternating,  105 
Pronouns,    personal     and     em- 
phasis, 23 
Punctuation  and  grouping,  13 
Pupil  and  groups,  14 
Purpose,  of  grouping,  13 

of    teacher  in    a    lessoHj 

99 
Quality,  aspirate,  43 

bright,  ringing,  41 

complex,  43 

dark,  sombre,  41 

defined,  40 

examples,  41 

guttural,  42 

indicates  emotion,  40 

normal,  41 

of  emotion,  4 

orotund,  42 

outline,  46 

review  and  suggestion,  47 
Questions  and  expression,  22 
Radical  stress,  35 
Ralph  Connor,  quoted,  6 
Rapid  time,  examples,  4,  5,  6 
Rapid  utterance,  5 
Read,  Thomas  Buchanan,  quot- 
ed, 41 


228 


INDEX 


Readers,    supplementary,     104, 

119 
Reading,  declaiming,  acting,  35 
function  of,  35 
sight,  119 

supplementary,  104,  119 
tone,  122 
too  slow,  8 
Recitation,  division  of,  98 
Relations,  of  words,  126 

sentences,  21 
Rising  inflection,  28 
Room,  divided  for  supplement- 
ary reading,  104 
Roosevelt,      "  Importance      of 
Teaching  and  Value  of  Right 
Ideals,"  169 
Rate  of  utterance,  4 
Review  and  suggestion,  articu- 
lation, 165 

classification  of  material, 

121 
divisions  of  recitation,  and 
assignment    of    lesson, 
106 
effects,  73 
force,  39 
grouping,  18 
melody,  33 

obstacles  to  good  expres- 
sion, 130 
primary  reading,  96 
quality,  47 
time,  12 
types,  61 

use  of  dictionary,  149 
Rules  and  grouping,  15 
Schools  of  teaching  reading,  3 
Scott,  quoted,  58 

"Sir  Lochinvar,"  184 
Script,  transition  to  print,  87 


Selections  for  practice,  167 

didactic  and  moral,  169 

dramatic,  1 84 

humorous,  217 

narrative  and  descriptive, 
196 

oratorical,  179 
Selection  of  lesson,  99 
Sentence,  inflection  at  end  of, 
29 

in  primary  reading,  83 

method,  79 

relations,  21 

structure,  14 
Shakespeare,  quoted,   7,  42,  43, 

58,72 
Sight  reading,  119 
Simile,  53 

Slow  reading,  too,  8 
Slow  time,  examples  of,  4,  6,  7 
"  Southern  Soldier,"  Grady,  181 
Speaker,  motive  of,  19,  29 
"  Speech,  John  Adams',"  7 
Stories,  writing,  117 
"  Story  of  the  Great  Republic," 

quoted,  37 
Strength  of  emotion,  4 
Stress,  35 

final,  35 

function,  35 

median,  35 

radical,  35 
Structure  of  sentence,  14 
Substitution  and  expression,  22 
Succession  of  ideas,  29 
Suggestion    in  acting    and  de- 
claiming, 35 

in  reading,  35 
Supplementary,  readers,  119 

reading,  time,  104 
Synecdoche,  56 


INDEX 


229 


Teacher,  imitation  of,  22 

mechanical,  13 
Teaching  reading,  schools  of,  3 
Teaching  thought  groups,  14 
Temperament  and  time,  8 
Tennyson,    "Lady  of  Shalott," 

196 
Tennyson,  quoted,  30,  59 
Thought,  and  emotion,  8 
and  grouping,  13 
in  reading,  importance  of,  3 

units,  13 

units  and  punctuation,  14 
"  Three  Crows,"  dramatized,  93 
"Three  Kittens,"  dramatized,  92 
Time,  3 

and  nationality,  9 

and  temperament,  8 

definition,  4 

determined  by,  4 

examples  of,  10 

in  reading  recitation,  98 

rapid,  examples,  5,  6 

slow,  examples,  4,  6,  7 
Tone,  reading,  122 
Too  slow  reading,  8 
Training  pupils  to  study,  112 
Transition,  script  to  print,  87 
Types,  51 

definition,  51 

examples,  51 

outline,  61 

review  and  suggestion,  61 
Unfamiliarity  with  words,  9 


Unity  of  lesson,  23 
Units  of  thought,  13 

of  thought  and  punctua- 
tion, 14 
Use  of  dictionary,  140 

outline,  148 

review  and  suggestion,  149 
Utterance,  rapid,  5 
Victor  Hugo,  quoted,  44 
"  Village  Blacksmith,"  16 

assignment,  103 
Vital  things  in  reading,  3 
Vocabulary  of  children,  80 
Voice,  movement,  19 
Webster,  "  Liberty  and  Union," 

182 
"  Whitewashing      the     Fence," 

Mark  Twain,  219 
Whittier,  "  Barbara    Frietchie," 
184 

quoted,  1 5,  44,  72 
"  Willy  Boy,"  dramatized,  91 
Word  method,  79 
Words,  development  of  new,  100 

emotional,  loi 

experiential,  10 1 

in  groups,  13 

in  primary  reading,  81 

poetic,  102 

unfamiliarity  with,  9 
Work,  assigned,  102 

of  teacher,  8 
Writing  in  primary  reading,  84 
Wrong  ideals,  children,  123 


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